


we don't have a lot but at least we've got each other

by lildouglas



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Asperger Syndrome, Autism, Awkward Spencer Reid, Bathing/Washing, Bubble Bath, Case Fic, Child Neglect, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute Spencer Reid, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Kid Spencer Reid, Kidnapped Spencer Reid, Kinda, Platonic Cuddling, Spencer Reid Whump, Team as Family, Torture, Touch-Starved, de aged spencer reid, kidnapping fic, lonely spencer reid, please let my babies be happy, spencer's autism isn't relevant to story, thats a spoiler lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-05-26 15:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15004292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lildouglas/pseuds/lildouglas
Summary: The second they had left, the entire team had shared the familiar dread child cases brought them. As the overwhelming sense of "something bad is going to happen" washed over them, the BAU team failed to notice Reid shared the same victimology as the other victims.Their profile misses the unsub's intentions by a longshot, and somehow, they end up with a child in their hands.





	1. Chapter 1

Reid hadn’t really cared — he was excited, at first, when he was told about a new member, but he wasn’t as excited after he met him. The boy was nice, same age as Reid, and they actually share a mutual love for Star Trek, which would’ve been a clear indicator they were going to get along greatly, until enter Penelope Garcia. 

 

They had clicked  _ immediately.  _ Penelope had adored the way the newbie had his nails done, and she had flocked to him. 

 

Reid wasn’t jealous. Not at all. 

 

“Stupid,” Reid cursed, banging the nail polish on the table. His hands were splattered with purple. His caffeine hopped body couldn’t stay still without a tremor, and he had failed terribly. 

 

His phone dinged with a text. 

 

_ New case,  _ the text read. 

 

He sighed and started to wipe at his hands to get rid of the purple when it dinged again. 

 

He scrubbed the polish off of his hands, but he kept it on his nails. 

 

The team filed into the round-table room. Reid sat directly across from the new rookie, Merle. He fiddled with his coffee cup. “I  _ love  _ the color,” Merle said, grinning. “We should get our nails done together sometime.” 

 

His chest tightened. “Yeah,” he almost snarled. He couldn’t stand to look at him any longer so he turned away. 

 

The door opened, and Reid turned, excited to see Garcia, but his face dropped when Kevin entered. “Where’s Garcia?” he asked anxiously. 

 

“She’s attending personal business today,” Kevin disclosed, and they moved on. Reid let out a small huff as Kevin debriefed them instead. 

 

This case was a bit weird. The first victim, a white male in his early 30s had been kidnapped, and his body was never found. However, a few years after he was stolen, a young child resembling the first victim was found along side of the road. 

 

“This unsub returns young kids in exchange for every man he takes,” Kevin explained. “All of the survivors have amnesia.” 

 

Five kids are up on the screen. Two of them are alive, while the others suffered from a COD of strangulation. 

 

“The children share similar DNA to the victims,” Merle notes. “It’s possible the unsub is forcing them to copulate.” Merle started to go into a ramble, similar to ones Reid had a tendency to go off on, but no one cuts him off. Jealousy flared inside Reid. 

 

“Wheels up in thirty.” 

 

Sitting around a table in the PD, the team discussed the case over food. Reid was the last to arrive, just returning from one of the dump sites, to find them all listening intently to Merle. “She didn’t even know she was pregnant,” Merle was explaining, laughing. “She was very athletic, way more than me.” 

 

_ I’m the non-athletic one,  _ Reid thought bitterly. Merle continued, “So we had just reached this guy’s house, he was holding a girl in a hostage situation, and she just went into labor right there! The guy had been a doctor, hence his hero complex, and he helped deliver her baby.” 

 

JJ laughed, and Morgan was grinning. “I delivered a baby once,” Spencer mumbled under his breath, but his team hadn’t heard him. Only Merle had acknowledged it. He glanced up suddenly and glared at Spencer. Hotch noticed his intense glare and followed his eyes to see Spencer. “I have to use the bathroom.” He bolted out of the room, and Merle followed. 

 

“You have a problem with me?” Merle said, pushing him up against the wall. “Something you need to tell me?”

 

“No,” Reid spat. “Get off me.”

 

“Not until you stop being petty. What did I do?” Merle profiles him. “Oh, you’re jealous. I’m stealing your spotlight, am I? That’s so pathetic.” 

 

“I’m not jealous,” managed Reid, and Merle smiled. 

 

“Yeah, you are. I read up on you, Dr. Reid. Daddy walked on you, and your mother tried to kill you.” Reid shivered at the mention of his mother because it wasn’t her fault, and he wanted to defend her but it was pointless. “Your uncle gave you enough attention though, didn’t he?”

 

No.

 

He can’t know about that. 

 

“Oh, I  _ was  _ right,” Merle said, clapping his hands. “I asked Morgan why you never shook hands, and he had told me you were a germaphobe. But, you didn’t even flinch touching the victim from our last case, and she was covered in blood and semen. You didn’t even hesitate. You were raped.” His smile fades. “Your team doesn’t know about it. They’re profilers, and they can’t even figure that out? I find that hard to believe… Maybe they know.” 

 

“They don’t,” Reid spat softly. “And they won’t ever.” 

 

“I think they do know,” Merle said, and Reid knew it was bullshit. “They just don’t care.”

 

No. 

 

That can’t be it. It’s impossible… But it’s not. His team isn’t stupid. They could figure that out, if they wanted to. But they never said anything. Merle was right about that. 

 

“We should be getting back,” Merle said. “Or they’re going to think we’re shitting in here.” He scrunched his nose. “You look like you shit yourself.” 

 

Merle left him in the bathroom. Reid stared at his reflection in the mirror and washed his face with cold water. 

 

_ What’s wrong with me?  _

 

When Reid returned, his team was engulfed in the case. “A new body was just found,” Hotch informed him. “Merle and I are going to check it out.” 

 

“Hotch--”

 

“You stay here with JJ,” Hotch said. 

 

Rossi sunk into passenger seat. Morgan and Merle were packed into the other car. “When you told Reid to stay with JJ, he looked like a kicked puppy,” Rossi said, breaking the silence. “You know he hates it when we baby him.” 

 

“He hasn’t slept good in weeks,” Hotch said, making a turn. “He could stand to rest a bit. Besides, kid’s a genius. He knows it’s not a punishment.”

 

Reid was fuming. 

 

Merle got to go, but he was stuck here with the victim’s family. They didn’t know anything! The two moms here hadn’t spoken to their 25 and 27 year old sons, as they’ve both moved out. It was a dead end. 

 

Reid had to step outside to take a breather. 

 

He started to walk outside in the dark to get his thoughts together. However, he was too sucked into his head to realize he had wandered miles away from the police station. By the time he realized he was too far out, a blunt object smacked him in the back of his head. 

 

When Reid awoke, he was strapped to a chair. His legs were spread, way too far to be comfortable. 

 

None of the men his age were recovered. 

 

“You’re awake,” a soft voice came, and Reid craned his neck to see a girl in an oversized lab coat. “How are you feeling?” 

 

She brushed the hair out of his face. She brought a wet rag up and started to dab at the blood. “I can’t,” Reid started to speak, but his voice was hoarse. It hurt to speak. “I can’t give you what you want.” 

 

“You are what I want,” she said, and it didn’t match their profile. She was after the kids, not the men. “Not yet, but you will be soon.” She grabbed his cheek. “I’ll give you the care you need, don’t you worry.” 

 

She picked up a syringe. Flashbacks to Hankel had Reid shaking against the bonds. “Shh,” she hushed. “It’ll make the change easier.” She injected the serum into Reid, and sleep caught over him. 

 

***

 

“Reid’s gone,” JJ said, out of breath. Hotch hadn’t even got out of the car. “He matches the victimology. She took him.” 

 

Morgan’s phone rang suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “Babygirl, there’s not a day I question your skills, but how did you--” 

 

“Reid’s phone might’ve been disabled, but the unsub didn’t know about the Reid’s watch.” Everyone’s phone dinged from her text. “Sending you his location now. And, Morgan, I’m flattered, but I’m a man.” 

 

Kevin. Great.

 

Having each member carry one of Garcia’s homemade trackers was an excellent idea. 

 

Heading towards Reid’s location, every one of them had hoped they wouldn’t be too late. 

 

“How long was Reid gone?” Morgan asked, and Kevin had hummed as he scrolled to get the answer. 

 

“Two hours,” Kevin said, sounding shocked. “He went away for two hours and you didn’t even question it?”

 

“He told me he was going for a walk,” JJ replied, blaming herself. 

 

They got there, and they loaded out of the car. “FBI!” Hotch roared, and Morgan kicked in the door. 

 

“Clear,” JJ shouted, finding nothing in the first rooms. 

 

“Clear!” Rossi shouted from the upstairs. 

 

“Guys?” Merle knelt down on the ground and picked up his watch. “These are Reid’s clothes.” 

 

“There’s a car out front,” Morgan says, “So the unsub has to be here.” 

 

“Her name is Katherine Doves,” Merle informed. “Kevin looked it up. I’ll have him track her phone.” Merle returns. “She’s here.” 

 

“Check behind the house,” Hotch says, and Morgan is already out the door. 

 

They throw open the cellar door and creak down to find Katherine’s shaking body on the floor. “Where is he?” Morgan asked, grabbing her collar. “Where?”

 

“Reid shot her,” Rossi said. “He’s okay. Maybe he got away.” 

 

JJ ran up the stairs to search. 

 

The woman was struggling to speak. “Where is he?” Morgan asked again.

 

“I couldn’t finish,” she stammered. “I, he, he isn’t… He’s not done. I’m not done with him yet!”

 

Hotch was searching the room when he stumbled across an intrusion in a blanket. “I’m with the FBI,” he said softly. He picked up his mouthpiece and spoke into it. “We missed a male victim. There’s a kid here.” 

 

He grabs the blanket. “I’m going to take it off now,” he said, ripping it off. 

 

The boy was curled up into a ball. His knees were pressed into his chest. “Don’t look at me,” he snarled. 

 

Morgan stood up. The woman at his feet had died. “He’s older than the others we found. Maybe five?” he spoke into the piece. “This could be from our first victim.” 

 

Morgan walked up next to Hotch. “My name is Aaron. Can you tell me yours?” 

 

The kid wouldn’t move his head from between his legs. “Don’t be mad at me,” the child whispered, shaking. “Please don’t hurt me.” 

 

“He’s not hurt,” Morgan continued to speak. “Maybe malnourished.” 

 

“You’re okay,” Hotch consoled. “I won’t hurt you.” 

 

Hotch touched him, and the kid, repulsed, slapped him. “Don’t hurt me!” he yelped, reaching to cover his ears. “Don’t hurt me!”

 

His eyes were squeezed shut. 

 

Hotch was stunned. “He hit you that hard, Hotch?” Morgan teased, looking down, but he followed his gaze. He was hoping his light tease would help the child, but he shared the same horrified look at soon as he saw the child. “Reid?”

  
  



	2. messenge to the bears

Reid’s sweater engulfs his small body. His frail legs are covered in disgusting purple bruises, and there’s an occasional scar. His head is bandaged up, poorly done by the UNSUB. “H-Hotch?” the small boy stammered, and Hotch’s heart melted at the weak voice. 

 

“Are you okay?” Morgan asked, eyeing him suspiciously. 

 

“She didn’t bandage my head good,” is the only response he got. 

 

“Let’s get you to the ambulance,” Hotch said, watching as Reid struggled to get on his feet. Hotch couldn’t help but smile and he reached over and scooped him off the ground. Reid barely weighed much as an adult, and he was even lighter as a child. Reid let out a small squeak and leaned into Hotch’s grasp. 

 

“Morgan, grab the syringes,” Reid called. “I can reverse whatever she did.” Hotch carried him out of the basement, carefully shielding his eyes from the dead body. 

 

Hotch carries him over to the ambulance and started to set him down when Reid grabbed on to his suit. “No,” Reid cried gently, and Hotch raised his eyebrows. “Don’t want him to touch me.” 

 

The EMT shrugged. “Agent, if you can hold him while I check his head…” the EMT trailed off. Hotch sat down and moved the kid into his lap. The EMT’s hand had barely brushed against him, when Reid started to tremble. 

 

“He won’t hurt you,” Hotch promised, questioning Reid’s actions.  _ Was he acting like a kid on purpose? Or is the serum affecting him mentally too…?  _

 

“Promise?” Reid whispered, and Hotch nodded. The EMT started to check his injuries out, and Reid’s fingernails dug into his hand. 

 

“Don’t do that,” Hotch scolded. “Grab on my hand. It’s okay. Go ahead.” Reid stops clawing himself and grabs Hotch’s hand. He squeezes it tight as the EMT disinfects it. 

 

“There, all done,” he announced, and Hotch is left alone with the shivering kid. Reid wrapped himself inside of his blazer. 

 

“I wanna go home,” Reid said suddenly. “Can we go?” His teeth were chattering. Hotch set him on his hip and stood up. 

 

“Reid!” JJ sprinted to the two. “It’s true? That’s Spence?” Reid nodded. “He’s shaking!” She slipped off her FBI jacket and wrapped him in it. She started to take him from Hotch, and he whined. Blinking, she handed him back to Hotch. 

 

Reid let out a tired yawn. “I’m gonna take him back to the hotel,” Hotch said. Reid rested his head against Hotch’s shoulder. The two of them left, leaving a confused JJ in their wake. 

 

Balancing the child in one arm and the key in the other, Hotch slipped into their room. “Reid, do you know how old you are?” 

 

“I’m three years, four months, five days,” he said, and Hotch rolled his eyes. He set him down on his bed. “This body is messing with my head, Hotch!” 

 

“Oh, really? Weren’t you always that cuddly?” he teased, and a rosy pink blush dusted his cheeks. 

 

“Shut up!” Reid hissed, throwing a hissy fit. “You’d be scared too.” 

 

Hotch flipped the switch and the lights shut off. “You don’t have to be scared,” Hotch said. “Get some rest. We’ll figure it out once we get back to Quantico.” 

 

Reid watches as Hotch strips down into his sweats and passes out in the bed. 

 

Hotch is asleep almost immediately, obviously exhausted from the stress the day has brought him. Reid crawled to the edge of his own bed and tried to reach for the bedside lamp, but it was too far. He sighed and wrapped the blanket around him. 

 

He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but a small tapping noise brought him out of his slumber. With the blanket wrapped over his head, Reid cautiously peeked to see a branch tapping against his window. He let out a small sigh of relief. He collapsed against the bed and closed his eyes. 

 

The A/C clicked on suddenly, and Reid shot up in the bed again. He looked around the dark room to see what was making the rattling sound, but he couldn’t see. He knew there was a desk in the corner, but all he could see was a dark figure. “Hotch?” he whispered, not really wanting to wake his boss up. 

 

He peeks down at the ground. He’s too small to take a big step off of the bed. If he falls off now, he’ll be right next to the monster under his bed. 

 

He started squinting in an attempt to see anything in the room. He couldn’t even see Hotch! He had started to make out the bed frame when his vision started to blur. 

 

_ This is bad,  _ Reid thought, but he had already started to cry. He quickly grabbed a pillow and buried his face into it. He started to suffocate a little, but he couldn’t risk waking his boss up and letting him see him like this. 

 

There was a knock on the door, and Reid let out a small whimper. He buried his face further into the pillow and hid under his covers. There was a small click, and then the door creaked. 

 

_ My gun,  _ Reid thought.  _ I can’t reach it.  _

 

Despite knowing his hiding spot wasn’t rational, he couldn’t move from under the blanket. 

 

There was another creak, and Reid couldn’t take it anymore. The tears started to roll down, and he started to reach for the pen in his notebook when hands wrapped around him over the blanket. “Gotcha!” Morgan hisses, and Reid smacks him in the face. Morgan drops him and holds his face. “What was that for?” 

 

“I almost stabbed you with my  _ pen _ ,” Reid snarled, glaring. “Don’t scare me like that.” Reid sniffled. 

 

“Were you crying?” Morgan asked, and Reid hoped he couldn’t see his face in the dark. 

 

“No,” Reid mumbled weakly, crossing his arms. “You’re gonna wake up Hotch.” 

 

“I needed to wake you up so you don’t slip into a coma,” Morgan explained. “You can go back to sleep if you want.” 

 

_ I wasn’t doing much sleeping before you came in here _ , Reid thought bitterly. 

 

“Or,” Morgan said, and Reid’s ears perked up, “we can watch a movie in my room.” 

 

“Yeah!” Reid said enthusiastically, but he covered his mouth after carefully glancing in Hotch’s direction. “Movie. Let’s watch a movie. I have this documentary in my bag—“ 

 

“Hard pass,” Morgan chuckled. “It’s going to be  _ Die Hard  _ or nothing else.” 

 

Reid nodded because anything would be better than being trapped in here. Morgan headed towards the door and when Reid didn’t follow, he stopped at the door. “Actually, I’m feeling pretty tired,” Reid lied, eyeing the floor again. “Night, Morgan.” 

 

“You sure?” Reid nodded. “I’ll be back to wake you up soon.” 

 

Morgan closed the door gently, and Reid returned to the terror-filled room. 

 

His tears had stopped flowing, but his body didn’t stop shaking. 

 

_ “Come on, leave him alone!” She was seventeen. Her blonde hair bounced with every step she took. When she grabbed on to her boyfriend, her hair swirled with her. “He’s just a kid.”  _

 

_ Spencer, who had his knees curled up to his chest, gulped. “Statistically, kids who grow up in homes with an abusive parent—”  _

 

_ “Shut up!” The boy roared, slamming the locker door. Spencer had only been twelve and here he was, curled up inside a gym locker. He was stuck there until the next morning. When the janitor found him, he reeked of piss.  _

 

Reid sat up suddenly, and he finds himself in the arms of a cigar-smelling man. He instantly recognized Rossi, and he grabbed on to him. “Whoa, whoa,” Rossi said, taken back. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“Can you—“ Reid had to stop talking and clear his throat. “Turn on the lamp?” His voice was small. 

 

Rossi nodded and flipped it on. Reid sighed out of relief as soon as he saw Hotch and the desk in the corner. “Bad dream?” 

 

Reid looked away from Rossi. He knew there were wet tears on his face. “No,” he lied, and Rossi crossed his arms. “you just… You scared me.” 

 

Trying to play his hug off as a push, Reid scoffed. His stomach gurgled suddenly, bringing Rossi’s attention. “Hungry?” Reid blushed. When he didn’t answer, Rossi snickered. “You didn’t eat much at the hospital. We have some food in our room…?” 

 

“No thank you,” Reid dismissed, but Rossi wasn’t having it. 

 

“I’ll wake up Aaron if you don’t eat,” Rossi warned, and Reid finally nodded. He went to move off the bed, but he still couldn’t bring himself to land by the bottom of the bed. “Did you hurt your leg?” 

 

“No,” Reid confessed. “I… can’t touch the ground.” 

 

“Oh,” Rossi said, not understanding. “Why not?” 

 

Reid threw his hands up in the air. “I dunno! I just can’t.” 

 

“Uh-huh.” Rossi nodded slowly. “You’re scared.” 

 

“I’m not,” he insisted, crawling away but it was too late. Rossi reached for him and Reid wasn’t fast enough. His hands caught him under his arm pits and lifted him up in the air. Reid let out a small squeal and fought against the older man as he threw him up gently, his small feet dangling. “Rossi! Put me down!” 

 

Rossi snickered. “I can’t tell if those are excitement or terror screams,” Hotch says suddenly, sitting up. His hair is ruffled in every direction and he looks disheveled. “Mhm. If you’re going to deprive him of sleep, do it in the other room.” 

 

“Hotch, order him to put me down!” Reid kicks his foot in the air as Rossi throws him up over his shoulder. His stomach growled again, and Hotch glared. 

 

“Rossi, let him rest,” Hotch said, and Reid sighed out of relief, but his relief was short-lived as Hotch continued speaking, “After he eats, of course.” 

 

Rossi carried him out of the room, but Reid grabbed on to the wall. “Wait! Jacket!” Rossi blinked before noticing JJ’s jacket on the bed. He picked it up and wrapped it over his head. He carried the boy back into his room. 

 

Morgan was on his bed with no covers over him. Rossi set the child down by Morgan. “I have some left-over steak…?” Rossi looked over to see his reaction only to find him curled up next to Morgan. His arms were outstretched towards him, but he didn’t touch him. He sighed and closed the fridge. 

 

Unable to sleep, Rossi opened his laptop and started typing. He had been working for about half an hour when he heard the whimpering. 

 

Reid had pushed himself away from Morgan. He curled up into a ball so he could fit under JJ’s jacket. His small hands were reaching up in the air, and his closed eyes were squeezed shut tight. He was crying softly. “Please, don’t leave,” he cried, writhing on the bed. “I’ll cure it. I promise. Just don’t—“ 

 

“Reid,” Rossi called. Reid opened his eyes slowly. “You’re okay.” Reid’s arms were still up in the air, and Rossi scooped him up off the bed. “It was just a dream.” 

 

“No,” Spencer mumbled. “It was a memory.” He held on to Rossi and let him rock him. His face was a flush red. “Rossi, I can’t stand being like this. I’m weaker, and old memories keep popping up.” 

 

Rossi patted him sympathetically. “We won’t stop until we fix this,” Rossi promised, rubbing his back. Reid hiccuped suddenly, and buried his face against Rossi. “Do you want to eat now?” 

 

“No, I’ll wait until the morning,” Reid said, hiccuping again. Rossi handed him a bottle and Reid started to drink from it, but most of the water spilled. His sweater had tiny wet spots on it, and Reid frowned. “I miss having clothes that fit me.” Right now, Reid was drowning in a sweater and a pair of JJ’s running shorts clipped in the back. They barely fit. 

 

“Garcia bought you everything you’d need,” Rossi said, snickering. A shiver ran down Reid’s spine. “Oh, don’t worry. Hotch managed to sneak this into our budget. Since it did have to deal with a case after all…” 

 

Reid hiccuped again. “It’s not that I’m worried about,” he whined. “What am I going to be forced to wear?” 

 

“I dunno, kid,” he said, smirking. “But we should get you changed.” 

 

Rossi lifted him up and set him down on the bathroom sink. “I can do it by myself,” Reid insisted, but Rossi just sighed. 

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be three?” he asked, pulling out Spencer’s shower bag. Reid let out a whine and Rossi gave him a playful hit. “Would you rather Hotch give you a bath?” 

 

Reid thought for a moment. “He  _ does  _ have a son,” he reasoned, scrunching up his nose. “But… he’s also my Unit Chief.” He held up a finger. “How about I do it myself? I know how to, Rossi.” An unrelentless Rossi stared back at him. Reid had to do negotiations all the time for work. How hard could it be to convince Rossi he can bathe by himself? 

 

“Or you could stop arguing and not wake up everyone on this floor,” Morgan said from the doorway. “Need a hand, Rossi?” 

 

“Morgan! Tell him I can wash myself!” Reid huffed, crossing his arms. 

 

“He’ll be okay, Rossi,” Morgan said. Reid cheered as he stepped out of the door. “Don’t fall.” They shut the door. Morgan was grinning. Rossi had started to question the smirk, but he just put a finger over his lips to silence the older man. 

 

The two waited in silence. On the other side of the door, Reid’s shaky hands were struggling to unbutton his cardigan. He was still struggling a few minutes later. In a fit, he grabbed a bottle of conditioner and threw it at the counter, which sent his bag toppling to the floor and spilling out his stuff. “Reid? You okay in there?” 

 

“Yeah!” But, no. Everything was not okay in here. Reid couldn’t get his cardigan off for the life of him. He leaned over to the bathtub and turned on the water. 

 

_ I’m just going to have to wash my clothes with me,  _ Reid figured. He got one foot over the tall wall of the tub and threw himself over. He hit the bottom and got a mouthful of water. He quickly sat up. 

 

He reached for his bag and a vial opened. He didn’t recognize it, and he picked it up to find that it was bubble bath.  _ Oh no.  _

 

The water kept filling up the tub and soapy bubbles started to engulf him. He let out a small squeak and knocked over his toiletry bag again. He tried to climb out of the tub, but he was stuck. “Rossi! Morgan!” he yelped, slipping under. The two agents broke in. Morgan picked the soaking wet Reid out of the water. 

 

Morgan, calm as ever, started to unbutton the cardigan. “I knew this was going to happen,” Morgan says, chuckling. 

 

Hotch appears in the doorway. “I heard yelling,” he said and squeezed into the small bathroom. “What…?” 

 

Reid sat on the edge of the tub in full clothing. Bubbles were caught in his hair, and he was shivering. He sneezed suddenly. “H-Hotch, you have to believe me! I-I, I promise I can do it myself. I just need to—” 

 

“I’ll take care of the rest,” Hotch said shortly. Hotch started to take off his clothes, and Reid slapped his hand away. “You can leave your shorts on, Reid. I’ll look away when you need to wash there.” 

 

“I can do it myself,” Reid said, stubborn. “Get out of here!” 

 

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest and raised a stern eyebrow at Reid. He glared at him with such intensity that Reid gulped. “Yelling at your Unit Chief?” Hotch hummed. “Not a good idea.” 

 

Sensing the upcoming danger, Reid threw himself off the edge of the tub. He landed on his hands and knees. He started to stagger to his feet and run away, but Hotch easily caught him. Reid brought him back over to the tub and continued taking off the clothes. Reid was left in the too big shorts. 

 

Hotch threw his hand into the tub. “That’s way too cold,” he muttered, starting to drain the water. He ruffled Reid’s wet hair. “You could get sick, you know. Are your lips blue?” 

 

Reid started down at the floor and kicked his feet. “Reid.” He didn’t look at him. Finally, Hotch grabbed his chin lightly and brought his gaze to his own. Finding no signs of hypothermia, he let go. He let warm water fill the tub. 

 

Hotch scooped him up easily and dropped him into the tub. Reid bit his lip. He managed to keep his mouth shut for a full, five hot seconds, but his silent streak was broken as soon as Hotch piled shampoo into his hair and started lathering. Reid swatted at him. “Hotch!” he hissed. 

 

“Oh, I don’t suggest yelling at me again,” Hotch says, and Reid huffs. He scoops water up in his hands and washes the shampoo out. Some of it rolls down and gets in his eyes, and Reid cries out. Hotch instantly reaches over and dabs at his eyes with a towel. As soon as it’s safe, Reid cautiously opens his eyes to see Hotch staring back at him. “Why don’t you have any conditioner…?” He started to sift through the bag. “Stay right here.” He picked him up and placed him on the bathroom sink. 

 

As soon as he heard the door shut, Reid was moving. He threw himself off of the counter. He peeked his head out the door, seeing Rossi on the bed typing away. Reid looked in both directions before charging for the door. He struggled to reach the doorknob. He was on his tippy-toes when he was grabbed from behind. “Morgan!” Reid hissed, throwing a fit. Hotch entered through the other door a second later. He didn’t even look surprised when he saw Reid had ran out. 

 

Morgan carried him back inside. “Okay, okay! I’ll get back in on one condition!” He grabbed on tight as Morgan started to lower him. 

 

“As if you get a choice,” Morgan said with an eye roll. He pulled him off, but Reid wouldn’t let go. Hotch started to pull with him, but Morgan was afraid the shirt would tear.

 

“How many profilers does it take to wash a baby…?” Rossi trailed off, tapping his chin. 

 

“Not a baby!” Reid whirled around, offended. Flipping around made him lose his grip, and Morgan pulled him off and set him down in the tub. Holding him down while Hotch washed his hair, Morgan looked to the bubble bath. “Don’t you even think about it!” Morgan could not be stopped. He pours a small bit under the running water and lets the tub fill up. “Morgan!” 

 

Reid couldn’t stay mad for long. His eyes started to flutter shut while Hotch washed his hair. “That shut him right up,” Rossi said, walking off now that they didn’t need anymore help. 

 

Reid kept his eyes shut while he was in the tub. When his eyes were open, he was playing with the bubbles. He picked up a handful and stared at it. 

 

Morgan had been dozing off as well. He had stopped holding him down, but Reid was too tired to fight Hotch. That was until he got bopped in the nose with a rag. “Hold still,” Hotch grumbled, cleaning his face. “Does it hurt?” 

 

“Not really,” Reid lied, shrugging. The wound on the back of his head had been burning. 

 

Hotch clicked his tongue. “You really shouldn’t lie to me,” he said, taking the rag away. He wrung it out, and then he poured a gel on it and started to rub his body down. “Hold your breath.” Reid did as told, and Hotch gently dunked him under the water. 

 

“Close your eyes!” Reid ordered, holding out his hands for the rag. Hotch did so and turned around so Reid could wash himself in privacy. Finishing up, Reid opened his mouth to tell Hotch he was done, but a better plan hit him. 

 

He scooped up a handfull of bubbles and slapped Hotch in the face with them. Giggling, Reid dunk down into the tub. Hotch groaned and reached for a rag to wash his face. “You son of a--” 

 

“Hey,” Morgan started to warn. 

 

“I was gonna say gun,” Hotch defended. 

 

Reid smirked. “Bitch,” he finished. 

 

Morgan gaped at him. “Nuh-uh. You stop that right now,” he warned, and Reid stuck his tongue out. 

 

“Stop what, bitch?” 

 

Morgan was on him in a moment, splashing bubbles at him. Reid covered his face. “No, Hotch! Help!”

 

Hotch was still wiping bubbles off his face. “Have at him,” Hotch said, and Reid cowered. 

 

“Rossi! Rossi! Rossi!” Rossi appeared instantly. “Save me!” 

 

“Stop bullying him,” Rossi scolded, and Hotch looked up from his towel. 

 

“Oh, he’s a little demon,” he said, pulling a new towel off the rack. “A little demon who is going to get sick if he doesn’t get out soon.” After the tub had half way drained, Hotch wrapped him up in a towel before he could get embarrassed with the bubbles fading and all. 

 

Hotch had his clothes lain out for him. He had JJ’s FBI jacket and yet another pair of shorts they had dug from the lost and found. After washing them, of course. 

 

“Get out,” Reid grumbled. “I can put it on myself.” 

 

“You said that last time, Pretty Boy.” 

 

“Well, last time had buttons! Besides…” He looked away. “I need to use the restroom.” 

 

Morgan and Rossi got out of their way. Hotch, however, stood at the door. He waited for Reid’s call. He heard the toilet flush and knocked. “I can’t reach the sink,” was what Reid said after a small thud. He pushed his head against the sink’s cabinet. Hotch sighed and picked him up off the ground. He put some soap in his hands and helped him wash his hands under the water. 

 

Reid jumped off the sink himself and waddled towards the bedroom. He went up to where Morgan was laying and tapped him. “Tell them good night,” Hotch ordered. “You need sleep.” 

 

“No!” Reid said, blushing as everyone looked at him. “No, I mean…” 

 

Hotch feigned hurt. “I can’t believe you hate me.” 

 

“I don’t! Hotch, I promise!” 

 

Hotch peeked an eye at him.  _ He lost his common sense,  _ he noted. 

 

“Then why else would you not wanna go back with me?” 

 

Reid looked guilty. “It’s scary in there.”

 

_ Bingo,  _ the three older agents thought as Reid started to confess.

 

Reid jumped on the drawer at the end of the bed and climbed on to the bed. “Why is it scary?” Hotch kneeled down to his eye length. 

 

“There’s a monster under my bed,” Reid said, but he quickly shook his head. “I mean, I know there’s not!” He grabbed his head. “I’m not thinking rationally, but I’m scared.” 

 

“The body must be messed with your head too,” Rossi commented. “But you’re still a genius. As long as you can still explain String Theory, you’re the same Reid.” Reid smiled at that. 

 

“I’ll check under the bed for you,” Hotch promised. “Come on.” Reid hopped off the bed and waddled after Hotch. “Get some rest, guys.”

 

They mumbled their forms of goodnight and fell asleep. 

 

As soon as they entered the dark room, Reid grabbed on to Hotch’s pantleg. “There’s nothing there,” he soothed. He flipped the switch, but Reid still wouldn’t let go. “Come on. Up you go.” Reid hesitantly climbed into his own bed. 

 

Hotch settled into his own. “Good night, Spencer.” 

 

Reid didn’t say it back. He stared out the dark window. It was 3 am now. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. His chest tightened and he wanted to ask Hotch if he could sleep in the same bed as him, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Finally, he sighed. “G-Goodnight, Hotch,” he said, but he didn’t have any intentions of getting to sleep that night. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a bit longer than i expected,,, guess i got a lil carried away w the bubbles...
> 
> also also, in this story, reid is in a child's body, so he has childlike tendencies! at the same time, he's super smart and he can still read and talk normally, but he reacts the way a child would to certain things... 
> 
> pls leave a comment or kudos if u enjoyed!!! i have multi works going at once, and i usually update which is in higher demand, so if you like, please say something and ill update quick! plus this is my fav story atm... 
> 
> thank u!


	3. Chapter 3

When movement sounded from the other side of the room, Reid quickly pushed his book out of the way and rolled over. He closed his eyes and pretended to be sleeping. Hotch groaned on the other side of the room as he climbed out of bed. It was six a.m. Hotch’s belongings were already packed up, so he just slipped out the small shower bag and slipped into the bathroom. As soon as the door shut, Reid rolled over. 

 

Reid hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings the night before. Of course, Hotch’s feelings weren’t actually hurt. He had been playing around, and Reid took him ever so seriously. 

 

“Oh, did I wake you up?” Hotch asked, sitting on Reid’s bed. “I’m sorry.” 

 

“It’s okay!” Reid said a little bit too quickly. Hotch didn’t seem to notice and he just smiled gently. 

 

“You ready to go home?” Hotch asked and slung his bag on the bed. Reid nodded slowly. “I’m going to go wake up the others.” He walked to the door. “Make sure Rossi and Morgan are up and wait in the lobby with them.” He took Reid’s bag, knowing he wouldn’t be able to carry it.

 

“Yes, sir!” Reid chirped, eager to please in hopes Hotch wouldn’t be mad at him anymore. 

 

Reid couldn’t reach the door, however, and he had to pull up a chair. He knocked on the second door. A tired Morgan opened it. “Morning,” Morgan greeted as Reid pushed past him. Once he saw Rossi brushing his teeth, he sighed. “What’s the rush, little man?” 

 

“Hotch put me in charge of making sure you’re awake,” Reid said, yawning. “Meet down in the lobby at 0630!” 

 

He caught up with Rossi, who was about to close the door. The three went down the elevator and dropped their stuff in the lobby. “I’m going to go return the room keys,” Rossi mumbled, leaving Morgan and Reid to watch the gear. 

 

“You’re too young for coffee, right? Would I be a bad friend if I drank it in front of you… Reid?” Morgan had started to ask, but he was already scampering off.

 

“I’ll be right back!” he said, turning around the corner. “And, yes, Morgan, you’d be a terrible friend. Don’t you dare.” He ran off.

 

In the hallway, he ran into Hotch and the girls’ door. “It’s a short flight home,” Hotch was explaining. “We’re going to take him out to eat as soon as we get there.” 

 

“It’s still early,” JJ argued. She had eye bags. Her hair was curly from the braid she slept in. “What’s op--”

 

“IHOP!” Emily cheered, and Hotch sighed. 

 

“Actually, I heard it’s IHOB now,” JJ corrected, and the two broke into an argument. 

 

Hotch started to leave, and Reid pushed into his room before Hotch could see him. He quickly grabbed Hotch’s heavy bag and started to drag it. He sprinted to the elevator as fast as he could. 

 

Reid was struggling really hard. He kept pulling at the bag, but he couldn’t get it to move. 

 

“Reid?” 

 

Hotch. 

 

Oh, God. 

 

Reid started frantically trying to pick it up. He managed to lift it up with shaky hands, but he barely made it into the lobby before he fell. The bag broke his fall. “Reid!” 

 

He looked up to find his entire team in front of him. “What were you thinking?” Hotch asked, and Reid melted. 

 

“I wanted to carry your bag for you,” he insisted. 

 

“Be more careful,” Hotch said sternly. 

 

Reid hung his head. “Yes, sir.” 

 

They checked out of the hotel. The ride to the jet was a quiet one, and Reid didn’t seem to perk up until he boarded the jet. 

 

A couple minutes into the flight, Reid climbed over to Rossi. “Will you play chess with me?” Oh, how could he say no? 

 

The team had been exhausted, especially in the early morning. Merle was fast asleep. JJ seemed to be wide awake, though. Hotch was awake, too, but he was quiet and in the corner. Reid stayed clear of him, careful not to make him more mad. 

 

“Rossi got beat by a four-year-old,” Emily snickered. 

 

“Three year-old,” Reid corrected. “Emily, stop laughing. You’re next.” 

 

They pulled out the card deck. After a long game, Reid cheered. “A two-year-old beat me,” she gaped. 

 

“Three! We’ve been over this, people!” Reid balled his fist and hit the table gently. 

 

“Were you always this feisty as a child?” Rossi asked. 

 

Reid bit his lip. “No,” he said honestly. “William didn’t like it when I talked a lot. It’d scare him.” 

 

The light hearted tone had took a nosedive for the worst. 

 

Reid was a bit more open like this. Before, it’d be a rarity for him to open up about his past. This was different. He was more honest as a kid. More trusting. “William isn’t here,” JJ said lightly. “So you can talk all you want.” 

 

Reid’s face lit up. He leaned forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. She was surprised at first, but she quickly adapted and returned the hug. He pulled away after a few moments, and JJ looked at his clothes. Reid must’ve noticed her gaze because he said, “Garcia’s getting me clothes. Your shorts are in my go-bag.” 

 

“And her jacket?” Morgan teased. 

 

Reid shrugged. He really didn’t want to return it just yet. He wrapped said jacket tighter around himself. “Garcia probably didn’t buy a jacket, so can I borrow this for a little bit more?” Reid’s lie was obvious. Of course Garcia would buy him a jacket. JJ nodded anyways, smiling, glad things were better since the incident where he had pushed her away. 

 

The jet ride went uneventful the rest of the way home. When the jet landed, Reid reached for his own go-bag, but Hotch beat him to it. Reid didn’t dare protest. He didn’t want to make him anymore mad. 

 

Once at Quantico, they met up with an excited Garcia. “Oh, he’s so small!” he squealed, hugging him. “Can I go dress him up now?” She dragged him away before anyone could reply. 

 

In the locker room, Garcia set him down on the bench. “How much stuff did you get?” Reid asked, horrified at the number of bags. 

 

Garcia didn’t answer. She just reached into the bag and pulled out some clothes for him. Garcia helped him take off the jacket, which he was hesitant to let go of, and she gave him privacy when he insisted on taking the shorts off himself. 

 

He slipped on the underwear himself, but he couldn’t get the shorts up past his knees. Frustrated, he let out a sigh. “Mama’s turning around now,” she warned, waiting for Reid to stop her. He didn’t, so she opened her eyes and helped pull the shorts up. “You’re adorable!”

 

Reid stared at himself in the mirror. His eye twitched. 

 

He wore a bright pink shirt that read “baby girl.” Garcia looked so happy, but Reid was the exact opposite. “I’m a boy, Garcia,” he whined. 

 

“I know,” she dismissed quickly. “I just had to.” He sighed and reached for his jacket. “You’re gonna wear the jacket over it?” She was pouting. “Okay, okay. Fine, I’ll change your shirt, but you have to take the jacket off. It’s hot out today.” 

 

Reid refused. “No,” he said, glaring. 

 

“This isn’t even yours… Oh.” Garcia stopped talking. She had been around kids enough to know they get very sentimental. She wasn’t going to get in the way of him and JJ’s jacket. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you take off the jacket, I’ll let you wear my doctor who hair bow.” 

 

Reid scrunched his nose. “I’m a boy, Garcia,” Reid whined again. He took off the jacket and started to fish through the bag. He scooped out a dinosaur shirt and struggled to pull it on. 

 

“You ready to go eat now?” Garcia asked as they exited the locker room. “Hold my hand, so you don’t get lost.” Reid grabbed her hand without a fuss. 

 

“Aww,” JJ cooed. “You’re an adorable little kid, Spence.” 

 

Blushing, Spencer scooted to Garcia for comfort. “I need to go grab my purse.” She let go of his hand to scamper off. 

 

Morgan snorted. “Kid, you look devastated,” he said, laughing. Big, sad brown eyes stared at him, and he regretted laughing. “You can hold my hand, Reid.” He lit up and grabbed on. 

 

Garcia got back seconds later. Reid walked up to her and tugged on her dress lightly. “You ready to go, sweetie?” She tilted her head to the side. 

 

“You said I could wear your hair bow,” he said shakily. 

 

The entire team was awestruck at how sound one kid could sound. Garcia smiled, dug through her purse, and pulled out the tardis blue bow. It was a scrunchie with two small ears, both covered in daleks and the TARDIS. Garcia pulled his hair back into a tiny little man bun. Or, boybun. She liked the sound of boybun. 

 

Now dressed up in his boy bun, Reid took off suddenly. He ran head first into a passing agent. “Sorry, Anderson,” he apologized. 

 

Anderson dropped the cup he was carrying. Coffee had spilt on his hand. “Who let a kid in here?” He shook his hand. 

 

“I said I was sorry,” Reid said quietly, and Hotch appeared in his defense. 

 

“You got away from me there, Walter,” Hotch said, stepping in front of him. Anderson backed off as soon as Hotch arrived. He fled away. “Reid, you gotta be more careful.” 

 

“I’m really sorry,” Reid said, feeling like he could cry. He couldn’t look Hotch in the eye after disappointing him again. Watching Anderson run away, Reid scowled. “‘Anderson, don’t talk out loud. You lower the IQ of the entire street.’” Garcia gave him a high five. 

 

“What was that?” he asked, and Reid shrugged. Anderson, unsatisfied, left them in peace. 

 

“I gotta use the restroom before we go,” Reid said quietly. Hotch was about to offer to walk him when he grabbed on to Penelope’s hand again. Garcia smiled and led the sad boy to the bathroom. 

 

Hotch watched them leave. 

 

“So,” Emily said suddenly. “Who’s going to be the one that tells Reid he can’t drive.” JJ touched her nose. 

 

“Nose-goes,” she called, smiling. Morgan quickly copied. Rossi did too, and eventually it was just Hotch who hadn’t touched his nose. Catching on at the last second, he touches his nose. “Guess Garcia gets to do it.”

 

Garcia and Reid returned a few minutes later. He was still holding her hand when they came back. They started heading into the parking lot. The group had began to split when Garcia tapped Reid on the nose. “You miss ol’ Ester?” 

 

Reid grinned, thinking of Garcia’s car. “Mhm,” he nodded, “Does Ester have a car seat?” 

 

“Uh, heck yeah, she does,” Garcia grinned. “Come on.” Reid followed her excitedly. The team gawked. 

 

“Well, that was easier than I thought it’d be,” Emily said. 

 

Hotch’s eyebrow twitched. “Okay, but he’s still going to want to go home alone,” Hotch reasoned. 

 

“We can worry about that later,” Morgan sighed. “Meantime, I want food.” 

 

The group probably looked suspicious. There were a bunch of adults, some very intimidating ones at that, and a small toddler. They all sunk into a round booth. Reid was the last to sit down. He skipped right past Hotch and darted for Garcia and Rossi. He climbed into the seat, and he could barely reach the table. “C’mere,” Garcia beckoned, and she moved Reid on to his lap. 

 

The waitress swung by the table, asking for everyone’s order. Almost everyone had ordered a coffee and a water, but when Reid’s turn came… “Coffee!” 

 

“No,” Hotch cut in. “He’ll have a water.” 

 

“Coffee and a chocolate milk, please,” Reid said, and Garcia ruffled his hair. 

 

The waitress, confused, didn’t write anything down. Sparing her, Garcia spoke, “He wants a chocolate milk.” She nodded before walking away. “You’re too little, sweetie.”

 

“You need to act your age,” Hotch said, once again scolding him. Reid melted, sinking down lower. 

 

_ I just keep making him more mad at me,  _ Reid thinks. 

 

The waitress is back with the drinks. Morgan passes the milk to him, and Reid cheers. “Thank you!” 

 

She giggles, tucking a strand behind her ear. “My, he’s awfully cute,” she cooed. “Such good manners, too. What can I get y’all?” She took everyone’s order. Reid ordered a stack of pancakes, and Hotch added on eggs and bacon. Once the waitress walked away, Hotch explained. 

 

“Too much sweets will rot you,” Hotch said. 

 

Reid nodded, sinking down into the seat. His teammates broke into a conversation, but Reid was pretty much quiet. When the food arrived, everyone dug in. Except for Reid. He tried to cut up his pancake, but using the knife proved to be quite difficult with his tiny hands. “Here,” Hotch said, reaching over to grab his plate. Reid flinched, but Hotch didn’t notice. He cut up the food and gave it back. 

 

“Thanks,” Reid mumbled weakly, still not making eye contact. Reid stabbed his food with his fork and slowly nibbled on the soft pancakes. When Rossi wasn’t looking, Reid stole his coffee. He stood up on the seat, careful not to step on Garcia, and reached for the cup. He stole some sips before gagging at the bitter taste. “Ew,” Reid griped. Rossi snatched his cup away from the kid. 

 

“Reid, you’ll like this,” JJ said, holding up her crepe. Reid investigated it. She held up a forkful, and Reid leaned over and took a bite off of it. “Yea?” Reid nodded.

 

“‘S Sweet,” he said, licking his lips. He picked up a packet of jelly and started to drink from it. 

 

“Reid, no,” Rossi cried, taking it from him. 

 

He pouted, then tried to return to his pancake. His team, getting the sense he didn’t like his food, kept trying to offer him theirs. “Oh, baby,” Garcia said, snapping a bib on him. She picked up the pancake and hand fed it to him. 

 

Reid was too hungry to be ashamed. He let Garcia feed him. Once he was done, he reached for his milk. Rossi grabbed it for him and let him sip from the straw. “M’ thanks,” he mumbled, hiccuping. 

 

“Hey, Hotch, can I drop off all of Reid’s stuff in an hour or two?” Garcia asked after they had paid the bill. 

 

“Hmm?” Reid asked. “Wait, Garcia--” 

 

“Yeah, that’d be fine,” Hotch said. “Reid, you’re going to come stay with me for a little while.” 

 

Reid shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” Reid said frantically, grabbing on to Garcia. “I can go with Garcia.” 

 

“Awh, I wish, sweetheart, but my house isn’t fit for a kid your age,” Garcia purred. “It’s either Hotch or JJ, and JJ’s got Henry.” 

 

“But, Jack?” Reid started to ask. 

 

“Camp,” Hotch said curtly. 

 

The team had gathered around. “Reid, we can swing by your apartment to get some of your things.”

 

“No,” Reid said gently. “I can’t go.” He held his arms up, wanting Garcia to pick him up, and he started to cry when she only ruffled his hair in response. 

 

“You have to go with Hotch, baby. Hey, it’s only for a little bit. I’ll be around to visit in an hour.” 

 

“It’s not that!” Reid ran to Morgan then. “Morgan, please!” A tear managed to escape, and Morgan quickly picked him up. Reid instantly grabbed on his neck. “I can’t go with Hotch.” Morgan patted his back. 

 

“Why can’t you go with Hotch?” Reid tapped him and motioned for him to give his ear. Reid cupped a hand and whispered something. “That’s not true. Reid, why would you think that?” Reid just shook his head and buried his face. He pried the kid off of him and set him down in front of Hotch. “We’ll come and visit soon.” 

 

Reid scrambled back to Morgan. When Morgan wouldn’t pick him up, he clutched to Rossi. None of them would take him. “You’re hurting Hotch’s feelings,” Garcia said, and Reid trudged his feet up in front of Hotch. 

 

“Okay,” Reid said. “Bye-bye.” He gave his team a small wave. Hotch moved to hold his hand, but Reid moved away. 

 

Garcia moved the car seat into the car. Hotch buckled him in and started the drive home. 

 

At the end of the ride, Reid had struggled to get out of the car seat himself. “Stupid child lock!” he cursed, raging. 

 

“I got it,” Hotch said, unbuckling him. “Why are you so cranky?” 

 

Hotch set him down on the couch. Reid had already dug into the bags Garcia had with her, finding mostly clothes. Hotch was building a crib while Reid searched the bag. 

 

Reid had gotten through two books by the time Hotch finished. He was in the midst of flipping a page when Hotch set him down in the crib. “It’s too early,” Reid griped. 

 

“You’re moody,” Hotch said. “And you’re not hungry. Get some rest.” 

 

Hotch left a baby monitor by the table. Hotch left to take a breather in his room. Reid couldn’t stand to fall asleep, so he threw the pillow against the edge of the cage and start to crawl out. He snatched the remote to the television and made it back into the crib to avoid suspicion. 

 

It’s not like he could sleep, anyways. The closest he’s gotten to falling asleep was when one of the others picked him up. The last time he’d actually slept would be almost two nights ago, aside from when Hotch was washing his hair in the bathroom. 

 

Despite not being able to go to sleep, he was exhausted. He didn’t even want to try to sleep here alone! The nightmares were too much… 

 

Hotch walked downstairs with a towel around his neck. He was scratching his head with it when he heard Animal Planet playing downstairs. 

 

“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Hotch says suddenly, and Reid drops the remote. With a sigh, he climbed down the stairs. He didn’t seem that angry, though, especially not when he saw how Reid was trembling. Hotch walks over to his crib to take away the remote, and Reid has to hold himself back from jumping into his arms. 

 

The overwhelming need to be held takes over him. He wants so badly to reach for him, but he keeps to himself. Hotch is already mad at him. If he cries out, he’ll just be more mad. 

 

Hotch, oblivious to what turmoil is going on inside of his head, sits down on the couch and starts typing away on his laptop. Despite scolding him earlier, Hotch leaves the television on. He mutes it, though, but Reid can still read the subtitles from his crib. 

 

After a couple minutes of watching the nature show, the doorbell rings. 

 

“I come bearing gifts!” Garcia announced, bringing in bags. Hotch lets her into the living room where Reid’s set up. “Hey, sweet thing.” She scoops him out of the crib, and Reid is so happy to be held. 

 

“Hi, Garcia,” he greets, and she pecks a kiss to his forehead. He smiles, but it’s short-lived because she drops him back in the cage. He frowns as her heels clack in the other direction. 

 

“I have a lot of baby food for the lil’ guy,” Garcia is explaining. 

 

“Thank you,” Hotch says. “I have some stuff leftover from Jack’s itty bitty years.” He’s digging through the bags. “What is…?”

 

“I figured he’d want it,” Garcia shrugged, and Reid wished he could see what they were talking about. The doorbell rang suddenly, and Hotch rushed to go get it. 

 

The team filtered in over the next half hour, minus JJ and Bailey, who he probably could care less about. He hadn’t forgotten the way he talked to him in the bathroom. 

 

“Hey, Spencer,” Morgan greeted, walking in. Reid stood up and ran to the side. 

 

“Morgan!” Reid hissed. “Get me out of here.” 

 

“Don’t let him out!” Hotch called from the other room. “He’s supposed to be asleep.” 

 

Morgan shot Reid a skeptical look. He only shrugged. “I’m hungry.” He wasn’t, but he didn’t want to be alone. 

 

Morgan picked him up, and Reid, overjoyed, happily raised his arms and brought him into the kitchen where everyone was. 

 

“He’s hungry,” Morgan said, plomping him down in the chair. Reid didn’t want to let go. 

 

“He just ate five pancakes,” Emily giggled. “Hungry lil’ thing.”

 

Garcia got out a box of vanilla wafers and set them in front of Reid. He took a bite out of one small cookie and set it back down. 

 

“Is that it?” Hotch asked, pulling out a chair so he could sit down. “Reid, stop trying to get out of nap time.” Reid bit his lip. He just didn’t want to be alone. Now, Hotch is mad at him again for not sleeping. He reached for another cookie. “You don’t have to eat it if you’re not hungry.” 

 

“No, please,” Reid begged. “I don’t wanna go back to baby jail.” He was whispering to Garcia. He didn’t want Hotch to hear him complain. 

 

“Try and get some sleep,” Garcia said, giving him another kiss to the forehead. This time, her lipstick had left a stain on his head. Smiling, she kissed him again on the cheek. “I’ll be back in half an hour, okay?” 

 

Reid nodded. Yeah. He could be good. 

 

He threw the blanket over his head, but he didn’t go to sleep. He decided he could patiently wait. 

 

In the kitchen, the troubled team surrounded the table. 

 

“How long is he going to be like this?” Emily was asking. “It’ll be too much on Hotch for him to stay here when Jack comes back.”

 

“I really would take the baby boy, but my place is too cramped,” Garcia shrugs. 

 

“He does adore you, though,” Rossi says, smiling. “He’s so attached to you. And, honestly, I can’t be the only one who noticed Reid avoiding Hotch.” 

 

“Well, he has to play the rule-enforcer,” Morgan said. 

 

Emily shook his head. “No, it’s more than that,” she says, holding up her finger. “This is Reid, we are talking about. He never asks for what he wants.” She cocked her head to the side. “Think about it. A distant father, a sick mother. Garcia’s basically a doting mother.” 

 

“Oh,” Rossi says, understanding. “He’s suffering from child neglect.” They all looked to Hotch, who defended himself. “Another thing. Reid complains when we have to do simple stuff for him, but not once does he complain when we pick him up.” 

 

“Not only is he attention-starved, he’s affection-starved,” Emily summed up. “That’s pretty rough on a toddler.” 

 

Reid, who had been listening the whole time, ducked under the covers more. He was so needy. He was being such a burden on them. Not only had he hurt Hotch’s feelings, now he’s forcing him to put up with him. None of the others could do it, so now he has to. 

 

Reid climbs out of the babyjail. To avoid alerting the others, he lands softly on his pillow. He runs to Hotch’s backdoor and slips out. 

 

“He must be so scared,” Garcia sighed, “I can’t imagine what he’s going through.” She looks down at her watch. “Oh, I’m gonna go wake the good doctor.” She leaves, and then her worried voice floats in. “He’s gone! And the backdoor is open!” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls comment if u enjoyed!


	4. realizations

Even though the heat had been almost unbearable that morning, this Virginian night was freezing. The sun started to set, and a cool breeze flew by. Reid didn’t know if he was sniffling because he was cold or because he was sad. Probably both. 

 

More than anything right now, Reid wanted to be back with his team. He wanted Garcia to pick him up and hold him, but he couldn’t go back. He couldn’t be more trouble. 

 

He wished he took JJ’s jacket with him. Instead, he sat on the wet grass in his shorts and tee shirt. 

 

Then, thunder boomed, and rain broke down from the sky. He scrambled under a tree, but water would still hit him on the head. His tiredness caught up with him, and he started to doze off. 

 

He woke up just a few minutes later, crying. “Please, don’t…” Reid woke up, letting the words fall out of his mouth. He couldn’t remember what the dream was about. He wiped at his eyes, and he couldn’t tell if it was him or the rain. 

 

“Reid!” Voices were calling. “Spencer!”

 

He wanted to shout, “I’m right here!” 

 

But he didn’t. 

 

He couldn’t help but cry as the yells got closer. 

 

He covered his mouth with his hands and snug his body close against the tree. He heard a branch snap, and he took off. 

 

He ran to a small stream. The roots of a tree created a small cave. He jumped into the flowing water, cringing at the wet socks, and he squeezed into the opening. 

 

His team would’ve passed him.

 

But then the thunder struck. 

 

He cried out loudly. “Reid?” Hotch was the first one in the water. Still wearing his shoes, he jumped into the light stream. “Oh god, Reid.” He ran to him, and Reid cowarded away. 

 

“It’s okay, Hotch,” Reid said lightly.

 

Morgan stood at the bay. “We found him!” he called to the others. “What’s the hold-up?” The team caught up with them, which didn’t take long. Hotch’s backyard wasn’t a huge forrest, after all. 

 

“I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused,” Reid apologized. “But you don’t have to take care of me. I remember the way home.” 

 

“You’re going to get pneumonia,” Hotch reasoned. “We need to get you inside.” 

 

“No, Hotch, you don’t have to,” Reid said. Tears weren’t flowing. Rain covered him, but he wasn’t crying. He had only yelped because the thunder scared him. “I’m sorry.” 

 

Morgan jumped in the water. “Reid, it’s just Hotch,” he said, and the team, minus Garcia, who was waiting at the house in case he came back, stood, peering at the two, not being able to see Reid from their position. “It’s the same Hotch you know. He won’t hurt you.” 

 

Confused, Reid cocked his head to the side. “Of course, he won’t.” 

 

Morgan scratched his head. “Then what is it?” 

 

“I make Hotch sad.” 

 

Morgan glanced up worriedly at Hotch. This isn’t what they thought at all… Hotch just stared back. He didn’t say anything. “You know that’s not true,” Morgan said. “Let’s go inside.” 

 

“I made him sad,” Reid said. “And, and, then I made him mad. And, now he has to put up with me.” He sneezed. “But it’s okay! I can take care of myself.” 

 

“You’re sitting out in the rain,” Morgan said. “How is this taking care of yourself?” 

 

“But…”

 

Hotch climbed into the opening. Reid scrambled to crawl away, but Hotch was bigger and faster. He easily plucked him off the ground and engulfed him in a hug. He wordlessly slipped off his jacket and wrapped it over the wet child. “I’m not mad at you,” he promised. “Let’s go home.” 

 

He climbed out of the water. 

 

“We were so worried!” Emily cried. “Reid, you can’t do that!”

 

He flinched. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Please, don’t hate me.” 

 

“Oh, baby, we don’t hate you,” Emily cooed. “We were scared for you.” 

 

Reid looked at her, hopeful. “You were scared too?” 

 

Thunder struck, and Reid cowarded against Hotch. He picked up the pace. They returned to the house quickly. 

 

Garcia met them with towels. Everyone got one, but Reid was especially soaked, as he didn’t have an umbrella. Morgan had to kick off his shoes and socks in the doorway. 

 

Hotch carried him up into his room. He lay a towel down on the bed and set him down gently. He helped pry off the wet clothes and changed him into fresh, warm clothes. 

 

Reid still wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Arms up,” Hotch ordered, slipping the shirt over his head. Reid did as he was told, but he looked away. “Reid. Look at me.” 

 

“I’m sorry,” Reid apologized. “I’m so, so sorry.” 

 

“No,” Hotch said. “I’m sorry. I should’ve realized you’re more fragile like this.” He put a towel over his head and dried Reid’s hair. “I thought you were scared of me.” 

 

“I’m scared of you hating me,” Reid said. “I’m not used to… depending on people.” 

 

“I know,” Hotch said, picking him up. “Reid, I know it usually goes unsaid, but…” Reid met his eyes, this time. “You know why I don’t mind taking care of you? You’re family. Okay? Got that?” 

 

Reid smiled. “Mhm!” he cheered. Hotch headed down the stairs to meet the rest of their team in the kitchen. He set Reid down on the countertop and fished through his drawer for a thermometer. He cleaned it off before slipping it into Reid’s mouth. It beeped a few moments later, and Hotch was overjoyed to find that his temperature was almost normal. 

 

“You’re gonna be okay,” Hotch promised. 

 

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Garcia cooed. “You can’t ever run off again!” She picked him up and blew a raspberry against his stomach. “And what’s all this nonsense about thinking you’re a bother?” He laughs as Garcia tickles him. 

 

“Put me down!” he demands, but he’s giggling. 

 

“We all care a lot about you,” Garcia said. “And love you very much.” 

 

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry,” she cackled. “Leggo of me!” 

 

Garcia let up on the tickling and he sighed out of relief. 

 

“I brought you a present,” she said, setting him down on his knee. She pulled up a bag and pulled out another hairbow. “We can match now.” She held two matching hairbows in her hands. Both were galaxy colored with a mix of daleks, cybermen, and weeping angels. He hummed happily as she pulled up his hair into a tiny ponytail. She had her hair in a messy bun, and she wrapped the scrunchie around it. “Oh, the rain washed it off.” 

 

Reid looked up at her. Grinning, Garcia pressed a couple of kisses to his forehead. Blushing, he rubbed at his head. “Garcia,” he whined, but the lipstick wouldn’t come off. “Thank you for my bow, but I’d appreciate it if you did not--” She pressed another kiss to his cheek, and he fumed. “Garcia!”

 

“I can’t help it; you’re so cute,” she cried, pinching his cheek. “Ah, my heart. I can’t take it.” She fell out of her chair. Reid toppled out with her. “I can’t go on…” 

 

“Garcia?” She closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. “Garcia?” 

 

“What’s going on in here?” Morgan asked, walking in with a pair of Hotch’s shorts on. 

 

“I killed her!” Reid screeched, patting her face. “Garcia!” 

 

She peeked open an eye. Reid leaned over and pecked her hand. “There! You gotta wake up now,” he mumbled, and she shot up. 

 

“You saved me!” Reid started giggling. “Oh, is it dinner time?” Rossi had just walked in with plates. 

 

The table was almost done being set. Hotch dragged in a high-chair for Reid to use, but he didn’t wanna leave Garcia’s lap. “I wish I could stay for dinner,” Garcia said. “But I gotta go. Hey, no, it’s okay. You’ll see me at work tomorrow.” Reid nodded. She picked up her purse and started to open the door. 

 

“Bye, bye,” Reid said, waving from his chair. “Hey! Make sure she gets in her car okay!” 

 

Morgan raises his hands and walks over. He goes to the window and watches, then returns to the table. 

 

Rossi set down the last plate. Reid was given a smaller portion of spaghetti and a baby fork. He struggled with the noddles, so he went for the meatballs first. When Morgan wasn’t looking, he stole a couple of the meatballs and snuck them into his mouth. 

 

“You sneaky lil’ gremlin,” Morgan growled, but Reid played innocent. 

 

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” he insisted, nibbling on it. He burped suddenly, and his team looked up at him. “Sorry.” Morgan burped back, but it was right in his face. “Ew! Ew! Morgan, stop!” He burped again, and Reid covered his nose from the smell. “Rossi, he’s being gross.” 

 

Reid started to climb out of his highchair. Worried he was gonna fall, Hotch picked him up. “If you needed help, you could’ve asked.” He twirled some pasta around his fork and held it up for him. 

 

“I can do it,” he insisted. 

 

“Hm, sure you can,” Rossi snickered. Glaring at him, Reid snatched the fork from Hotch. He tried to twirl it around himself. He scooped it up, barely, and missed his mouth. It hit his bib. 

 

“Exactly,” Hotch said, grabbing the fork for him. He fed Reid for a little while. The team left after dinner, leaving Hotch and Reid alone. “Goodnight, Reid.” He pulled the covers over Reid. 

 

Not looking forward to another sleepless night, Reid sighed. “Night, Hotch.” 

 

Morning couldn’t come soon enough. Hotch had always been one of the first people into work, and Reid was overjoyed. “Remember, if anyone sees you, you’re my nephew,” Hotch reminded him as they walked into the building. 

 

Reid was anxious to get out of this body. Morgan had sent the samples of the serum to the lab, where a small hidden table was set up for him in the back. His condition was kept on the down low, since they might’ve just discovered the secret to immortality. Cruz, who was aware of the situation, tried to keep them from going on cases as much as he could. He tried to keep Reid in the lab as much as he could, so the reversal could go by quicker. 

 

But Reid couldn’t focus in the tiny body. He could barely stay awake. A three year old needed a lot of sleep, and he hadn’t been sleeping well for days. 

 

They’d only gone through half of the day when Rossi pulled him out of the lab. “Where are we goin’?” Reid asked, rubbing his eyes. Rossi knocked on Garcia’s door and let him slip inside. Garcia’s office looked 20 times cooler to a child. Reid instantly reached for a glowy ball. 

 

“Nap time,” Rossi says before closing the door. Reid frowns, but he climbs on the small cot Garcia has. 

 

“You’re not sleeping well, are you?” Garcia asked after a few minutes. Reid rolled over. 

 

“No,” he confessed quietly. “Don’t tell Hotch.” 

 

“Come here, then. Bring your blanket.” He trudges up to her. Reid slumps against her, wrapped in the soft blanket. “Whatcha got there?” He opened his hands to show her the glowy ball. “Nice choice. Get some sleep, sweetie.” 

 

He closed his eyes. Finally, in the comforts of a trusted one, he fell asleep instantly.

 

However, his slumber was short lived. He woke up with a rising taste of vile, and he threw himself towards the trash can. He began to vomit into the can while Garcia rubbed his back. “Please,” Reid begged. “Don’t tell Hotch.” 

 

After he was finished, Garcia gently held him. “Why can’t I tell him?” Garcia bounced her knee. 

 

“He’ll worry,” Reid mumbled. “He always worries too much.” 

 

The door creaked open. “Hey, I--Whoa,” Rossi said, taken back. “You okay?”

 

“He’s sick--” “I’m fine--” Their two voices overlapped. 

 

“I’ll take him into the infirmary,” Rossi said, motioning for Reid to come over to him. 

 

“I need to get back to the lab,” Reid whined. 

 

“You’re not going to get much done,” Rossi sighed, picking him up. “Besides, Anderson has a team on it.” 

Reid scrunched his nose. “Anderson,” he scowled. Rossi thumped him on the head. He set him down on the table and took his temperature. 

 

“Oh, you need to go home,” Rossi gaped. “100.1.” 

 

“No,” Reid begged. “Please, I don’t wanna go home. I don’t want Hotch to worry.” 

 

Rossi, unamused, put the thermometer up. “Okay. Fine.” Reid grinned. “We can let your fever get worse and worse until you have to go to the hospital. Then, Hotch is going to get an ulcer--” Reid frowned.

 

“Okay, fine! I’ll go home,” Reid grumbled. “Just don’t tell Hotch.” 

 

“Kid…”

 

“Please!” Reid gave him puppy dog eyes that he could not resist. 

 

“I’ll make a deal. If your fever isn’t at 99 by the time Hotch gets home, we have to tell him.” 

 

Reid shook his hand and flashed him a toothy grin. “Deal.” Rossi picked up a water cup and started to pour it when Reid started to freak out. “What’re you doing?”

 

“What else are we going to tell Hotch?”

 

Rossi popped his head into Hotch’s office. “Hey, Reid and I are going to clock out early.” Instantly concerned, Hotch closed his file and looked up at them. He was quick to explain. “Reid had a little accident.” 

 

“I spilled my water!” Reid half-lied. More like, Rossi dumped water on his crotch. Thankfully, Rossi had been balancing the kid on his side, so Hotch couldn’t investigate the lie. 

 

Hotch dismissed him and handed him a key to his house. “Make sure you feed him.”

 

Rossi started to carry him out to the car when they passed JJ, Emily, and Morgan. “Bye-bye,” Reid waved. 

 

At the drug store, Rossi packed a basket full of cough drops and other medicine the kid would need. “What flavor would you want, Reid?” The child was no longer clutching his leg. “Reid?” He wasn’t there. 

 

Starting to panic, Rossi scanned the aisles. He ended up on the far side of the store. Reid was face-down on the ground in the toy aisle. “Reid?” Rossi asked, picking him up. 

 

Reid blinked slowly. “Hmm?” he hummed, rubbing his eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“Oh, kid,” Rossi sighed. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” Reid bit his lip and looked away. “I know you’re tired, but how’d you end up over here?” He glanced around at the toys. “Did you want something?” Reid shook his head, but Rossi could tell what had drawn his attention. “You wanna go home?” He nodded. Rossi made his way back into the medicine aisle, picked berry flavored cough drops, and headed towards the car after checking out. “Does Hotch know you haven’t been sleeping?” 

 

“I don’t wanna bother him,” Reid mumbled weakly, “It’s just hard to get to sleep.” 

 

Rossi laughed. “You fell right asleep on Garcia,” he noted. His laugh faded suddenly. “Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Reid, oh, you should’ve just said so. God, it’s been, what, two days?” 

 

“Profilers,” Reid muttered, staring out the window. The vile built up in his throat suddenly. He quickly grabbed a bag and puked into it. “It hurts.” 

 

“What does?” Rossi asked, concerned. They were almost home. 

 

“M’ head,” Reid mumbled. When Rossi parked, he finally looked over at Reid to see blood streaming out his nose. 

 

After he got the blood cleaned up and pain medicine taken, Rossi sat on Hotch’s couch with Reid in his lap. “Get some sleep. I’m here.” Rossi stroked his hair. 

 

“You’re going to tell Hotch, aren’t you?” Reid’s eyes were closed. His face was flushed red, and his chest was hitching quickly. 

 

“You didn’t get sick from the cold,” Rossi said, avoiding his question. “Your refusal to ask for help is what got you sick.” 

 

“It’s embarrassing!” Reid screeched. “How am I supposed to tell my boss that I can’t sleep by myself because I get scared?” 

 

“Shh,” Rossi hushed. “Go to sleep. My promise still stands.” Reid opened his mouth to speak, and Rossi just clicked his tongue. “Sleep.” 

 

Reid was out for  _ hours.  _

 

Hotch had stepped into his house, after being greeted by Rossi, who sat on the couch with a finger over his lips. Morgan had been right behind Hotch. “Let him sleep for a bit more,” Morgan whispered. “You should go rest some yourself. Go, Hotch.” 

 

After slipping into his room upstairs, Morgan sunk into the seat beside Rossi. He quietly shook Reid awake. “Let’s take your temperature again.” Reid didn’t open his eyes until Rossi started to move him. 

 

“No,” Reid cried out, reaching for contact, and he was pleasantly surprised when his hands found Morgan. “Morgan!” Morgan lightly traced the skin under his eyes. 

 

“You look exhausted,” he noted. “I thought regular you was bad about sleeping.” 

 

“Regular me can sleep by himself,” Reid grumbled. “This is annoying.” 

 

The thermometer beeped after a few seconds. “99.7,” Rossi announced. “Sorry, kiddo. It’s good for Hotch to know, anyways.” 

 

“Yeah, right,” Reid snarled. 

 

“Now you can actually get some sleep,” Morgan offered. Reid fumed.

 

“Wait! No, we made a deal!” Reid raged.

 

“Yeah, that I could tell Hotch,” Rossi said. 

 

Reid clenched his fist. “No, you can’t tell him about the, the, uh,” he stammered, blushing, “the thing…” 

 

“Sorry, Reid, but I have to tell Hotch,” Rossi said, not sounding that apologetic. He noticed, then, the figure behind Reid, but he didn’t have time to say anything before Reid went off. 

 

“You can’t tell Hotch no matter what!” Reid exclaimed. “You… You can’t tell him!”

 

“Tell me what?” 

 

Hotch was tapping his foot impatiently. 

 

Reid gulped suddenly. “That I’m sick,” Reid recovered quickly, scratching the back of his neck. 

 

“Uh-huh,” Hotch hummed. “You wouldn’t answer truthfully that quickly. That’s a lie. Now, tell me what?” 

 

“That’s the truth!” Reid yelled. 

 

“No, it’s not,” Hotch said. “Rossi, what is it?”

 

Reid glared at Rossi. “Don’t.” 

 

“He hasn’t been sleeping,” Rossi answered, and Reid threw his head back. 

 

“Traitor!” 

 

Hotch turned to Reid with a betrayed look in his eyes. He backed away from the larger man, afraid. “Why not?” 

 

Reid crossed his arms and looked to the floor. He mumbled something incoherently, and Hotch had to ask him to repeat himself. “I get scared by myself.” 

 

As soon as he said it, Reid regretted it. Even Rossi’s eyes had widened at the new information. “Wait, not just at night?” Morgan asked. 

 

“No, just at night,” Reid said in a high-pitched voice. 

 

Reid had been sitting on the couch in between Morgan and Rossi. Next thing he knew, Hotch set him on his lap and settled in between the two. “You’re a terrible liar,” he murmured, and Reid blushed but settled into the comfort. “You can sleep in my room tonight.” 

 

He didn’t argue. The three broke into conversation, but Reid wasn’t really a part of it. The only speaking he did was the occasional cough. “You weren’t lying about being sick, though,” Hotch noted, ruffling the boy’s hair. “You need to tell me these things.” 

 

“Just because I’m in a kid’s body, doesn’t mean I need to be babied,” he pouted.

 

“Nah,” Hotch said. “You should tell me these things, regardless. Big Reid needs to keep me updated too.” Reid bit his lip. 

 

“M’kay.” Reid let out another rough sounding cough. Cringing at the hacking sound, Rossi brought in the medicine from the kitchen. Upon sight, Reid freaked out and started to bolt. “I don’t need it! I feel better.” 

 

Morgan chased after him, which really was just three big steps for him, and trapped him in the corner. Panicking, he ducked through his legs and started to pump his own small set of legs. He didn’t get very far before having to stop to cough. With a sigh, Morgan scooped him up and held him steady. “How many people die a year from pneumonia?” 

 

“50,000,” Reid answered instantly. “But I don’t have pneumonia.” 

 

“Well, you’re gonna get it if you don’t take this,” Morgan said, pouring it into a medicine cup. 

 

Hotch returned from the kitchen with a tub of ice cream. “You can’t bribe me with food,” Reid growled. 

 

Hotch raised an eyebrow and pulled out the tub. “Sure about that?” 

 

His mouth watered. “Is that coffee flavored?” He asked, breathless. “Gimme a spoon.” 

 

Hotch held a big spoon and opened it up. He knew Reid was going to become repulsed as soon as he swallowed the foul tasting medicine, so he was ready. 

 

He snatched the cup from Morgan and forced it down his throat. “Blegh!” He stuck his tongue out and shook his head. He caught sight of the spoon that was being held out to him and chomped on to it. 

 

Hotch smiled at him and let go of the spoon to answer his suddenly ringing phone. “Hotchner,” he answered, confused at the unknown number. They heard a voice on the other end. “I’ll be right there.” 

 

Hotch sprinted to slip on his shoes. “There was an accident at camp; I need to bring Jack home,” he explained. “Can you guys watch him for a bit?” 

 

“Yeah, of course,” they both answered. 

 

After Hotch left, the three were still curled up on the couch. Reid had his ice cream set up on his knees. He scooped up a bite and held it to Morgan. He wasn’t a big fan of sweets, but he couldn’t say no to his big eyes. He bit some off the spoon, and Reid grinned. He took another scoop and held it to Rossi. 

 

“You don’t mind sharing spoons, but you won’t shake,” Rossi said in disbelief. 

 

“It’s safer to kiss,” Reid said simply, biting another spoonful. 

 

Morgan turned on the TV, where Animal Planet was still on. Reid looked up instantly, captivated by the show. “Those are cheetahs!” he exclaimed, grabbing Morgan’s face so he’d look at the screen. “They can run up to 75 mph because their spines work like springs, and they can swim super fast too, but they don’t because they’re big cats who just don’t like water.” He chomped his ice cream. “Did you know that?” 

 

“Nah, I didn’t,” he shrugs. 

 

Reid’s eyes kept fluttering shut. He tried to stifle a yawn, but it still came out as a small squeak. “It is getting late,” Rossi said. “You ready for bed?” 

 

“No!” he insisted. “I’m not,” he had to stop speaking for a second so he could let out another yawn, except just a little bit louder this time, “sleepy.” 

 

“Your eye bags tell a different story,” Morgan chuckled dryly, and Reid bit his lip. 

 

“Well, they’re lying,” Reid shrugged. Knowing that his lie didn’t get past them, Reid sighed. “I don’t want to go back to baby jail.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, you can’t physically make me go to sleep.” 

 

“Mhm, no, but I’m tired,” Rossi said, purposefully letting out a fake yawn. He stretched his feet out on the couch and closed his eyes. “Night, guys.” 

 

“It’s eight o’ nine,” Reid said, scrunching his nose. “Whatever, old man. Morgan? All-nighter train?”

 

Morgan faked a yawn too. “Sorry, Pretty Boy, but I’m beat,” he said. “And this is a sofa bed.” At that, Morgan settled in on the bed too, keeping to the far left. Rossi was pressed up against the right. 

 

Morgan cringed, wanting to laugh. He knew Rossi would rather be in his mansion on his nice, soft bed, but instead, he’s stuck here babysitting and trying to trick a kid into getting some sleep. 

 

After both of them got to sleep, Reid put the television on mute and read the subtitles. He sat on the floor. It only took about fifteen minutes before Reid finally got up and climbed on top of the bed. The only spot for him was in between the two. 

 

He snuggled into the warmth and instantly fell asleep. He couldn’t help it. He’d barely slept the past few days, and now he felt unbelievably safe. 

 

“Morgan,” Rossi hissed. 

 

“Shh, he’s a light sleeper,” Morgan hissed back. 

 

“The medicine he took knocked him out,” he explained, knowing he won’t wake up until a couple hours, at least. “Besides, he’s pinching my nose. Reid was sucking one of his thumbs, but the other was reached across on Rossi’s face. Morgan snickered, trying to keep quiet. “Reid, why? Why?” 

 

“At least, he’s asleep,” Morgan shrugged, still trying to wipe off the smile. “He watches Animal Planet.” 

 

“Yeah?” Rossi’s voice came out weird, seeing as his nose was still pinched. “Usual kids watch cartoons, but he’s not really a kid, is he?”

 

“He sucks his thumb in his sleep,” Morgan explained. “And is hella clingy.” 

 

“Maybe he’s acting as he did as he was a kid,” Rossi said. “The body could be messing with his emotions. His intellect is intact.”

 

“Or, maybe he’s acting like he wanted to as a kid. He never really got a good childhood, you know.” He moved so he was on his side. “So if his emotions are affected, wouldn’t he need other kid stuff?”

 

“Oh,” Rossi said, sitting up, causing Reid’s hand to fall to the bed. He started reaching out to his right, and when he didn’t find anything there, his eyes squeezed tighter and he started to writhe. Morgan carefully put a hand on his shoulder, and Reid pressed into it. “Garcia bought a lot, but Hotch didn’t think he’d need some of it.” Rossi laid back down. Reid head-butted Morgan, pressing into his side, and his legs stretched out to lay on top of Rossi. “We can talk more in the morning. For now, I’m going to bed. Night.” 

 

“Night, Rossi,” Morgan said, pulling the blanket over him. 

 

Reid rolled around on the cramped bed, eventually ending up on top of Morgan. He didn’t seem to mind too much, not even when he had to suck in a deep breath. He was a light kid, but he was right on top of his lungs afterall. 

 

“Did you say hella earlier?”

 

“Go to bed,” Morgan snarled. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment or a kudos if u enjoyed!!
> 
> ((i seriously feel like I'm bribing y'all, but i usually only update fics that people actually r reading so thats why i beg for comments like a thirst monster... but yeah its the truth lol))
> 
> ^i try to update at least every three days, sometimes more often than that, depends on my motivation and such lol...
> 
> anyways, thanks y'all for reading n stuffs!


	5. stubborn as a mule

Hotch came home to find Morgan, Rossi, and Reid sandwiched on the couch. Jack was right beside him. “Daddy, who’s that?” 

 

“That’s David’s grandson, Walter,” he lied. “You know David and Derek, don’t you?” Jack nodded slowly. “Let’s get you to bed. Don’t mind them. Does your head still hurt?” 

 

“It wasn’t that bad,” Jack said. “I wanted to come home.” Surprised at his straightforwardness, Hotch raised an eyebrow. “I missed you.”

 

“Hotch?” a small voice croaked suddenly. Reid sat up on the couch, rubbing his eyes. “Oh,” he said, seeing Jack. “Hi.” 

 

Rossi started to stir. “How are you feeling, Walter?” Hotch asked. 

 

“Okay,” Reid mumbled. 

 

Hotch looked skeptical. “Really?” 

 

Jack grabbed his leg. “I got a concussion today,” he slurred, wanting the attention on him. 

 

“I’m going to go tuck him in. Are you guys okay here?” 

 

Rossi gave a thumbs up. Morgan woke up, too. “What time is it?” he mumbled, looking at his watch. “Oh, Savannah is off work by now. I should go.” He started to get up. 

 

“Bye, bye,” Reid waved. 

 

Reid watched to make sure Morgan got safely into his car. Then, he ran back to find Rossi sat up on the couch. “I should be going soon too,” he said, smiling. “You’re looking a lot better.” He went to the door. Noticing Reid already pulling up the chair to the window so he could check on him, he tsked. “Go up to Hotch. It’s okay for you to ask for help. Go on. You won’t get any sleep on that couch.” 

 

He nodded, then ran up the stairs. Rossi watched him carefully before leaving. 

 

Reid creaked the door open, seeing Hotch collapsed on his son’s bed. In his hold, was Jack. They were both snoring soundly. 

 

Reid’s heart hurt suddenly. He closed the door and ran downstairs. He couldn’t reach the doorknob. He heard the car start in the doorway, and he started to cry. He snagged the chair up, creaked open the door. He jumped off, landing on his knees, causing them to scrape. He staggered to his feet and ran out the door. 

 

Rossi was already pulling out of the driveway, and he wouldn’t have seen Reid if he hadn’t ran out in front of him. He stopped the car and got out. “Reid?” 

 

“Please,” he begged, running up to him. “Take me with you.” 

 

“What’s wrong?” 

 

“I,” Reid struggled. “I… I saw Hotch and Jack, and I…”

 

“Oh,” Rossi said, understanding. “It’s okay. Let me get some of your stuff.”

 

Rossi loaded on some of his clothes, careful not to forget JJ’s jacket and the hairbow from Garcia, some baby food, his medicine, and a bright baby blue pacifier he found in one of the bags. 

 

He got back into the car where Reid was patiently waiting. He had the car seat set up. 

 

Rossi’s mansion was gigantic compared to Reid’s tiny apartment. They stumbled into the house, and Rossi carried him up to his room. “Thank you,” Rossi said, setting him down on the large bed. 

 

“Hmm?” Reid cocked his head to the side. 

 

“You did good, telling me,” he said. “I’m very proud of you.” 

 

Reid grinned at the praise. Rossi couldn’t help but smile at how jovial he looked. Reid swung his feet over the bed, cringing suddenly. “Uh, Rossi…?” Once he had his full attention, he frowned. “Can I have a bandaid?” 

 

“You hurt yourself?” Rossi murmured. He pulled out a first aid kit. Reid hiked up his pant leg to show his bloody knee. “Yikes. You’re gonna need a bit more than a bandaid.” He pulled out hydrogen peroxide and brought it close to his knee. 

 

“Rossi!” Reid whined suddenly, obviously scared. 

 

“It’ll only hurt for a second,” he promised, but Reid wasn’t having it. He reached up his arms suddenly, and Rossi finally understood. He pulled him on his lap and began to pour the liquid. Reid buried his face into his chest. 

 

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed. 

 

“Spencer,” Rossi warned, flicking him lightly. 

 

Rossi pulled the blanket over him. Enjoying the room, Reid rolled to the side of the bed. However, once he fell asleep, he rolled back over during a nightmare and grabbed on to Rossi’s sleeve. Rossi, who hadn’t yet fallen asleep, just grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. It calmed him after a while, and the child stopped twisting around. Rossi fell asleep soon after. 

 

He woke up to screaming. 

 

Spencer sat up in the bed, shaking and shivering. He looked around to find no one there. “Rossi!” he screamed. “Please!” 

 

There was the sound of the stairs creaking, and then the door opened to reveal Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi. “I just had to go open the door,” he explained. “I’m right here.” 

 

Spencer, sniffling, reached for Garcia. “You ready for a fun day today?” she cooed, bouncing him. 

 

“What do you mean?” he asked, smiling. “Did Anderson find a cure?”

 

Garcia frowned. “No, baby, we’re going to the mall!”

 

Spencer cocked his head to the side. “How is that fun?” 

 

“We need to get you some more supplies,” Morgan said. “You need shoes and clothes that fit a bit better.” 

 

The four loaded up to go to the mall. As they were getting out of the car, Spencer excitedly ran up to Garcia, but Morgan grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Hold on,” he said, re-placing him into a stroller. 

 

“I can walk,” he insisted, but he was already buckled in. They pushed him into the store. Garcia had wanted to go into a couple of clothing stores, and despite his hatred for shopping, he followed her blindly everywhere. 

 

Morgan picked some plain black shoes out for him, which Reid didn’t look like he enjoyed. They fit, however. “Oh my god!” Garcia yelped, popping in. “Look!” She held up light up tennis shoes. 

 

Reid grinned and tried them on. They fit. “You like those?” Morgan asked, and Reid kicked his foot out to show them off. 

 

He climbed up on the seat and grabbed both sides of Morgan’s face. “Morgan,” he hissed. “They light up.  _ And  _ they have Kylo Ren on them.” 

 

“Guess that’s a yes,” Rossi chuckled. “Let’s get going.” 

 

They were leaving the mall, Reid was walking this time, wanting to stomp his feet to activate the lights, when he stopped in his tracks. Rossi had to stop to take a phone call, leaving Morgan and Garcia to watch the spaced out child. He was staring at a toy store. “I’m going to run in to buy some girl stuff,” Garcia said suddenly. “Spencer, you okay sitting this one out?” He nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I thought.” 

 

Morgan tried to strike up a conversation with him, but he was staring off into space. “Did you wanna go into a store?” Reid shook his head. He was hiding something. “You hungry?” 

 

Morgan ended up getting the two of them some pretzels. Reid didn’t have much of an appetite, though. They sat outside the mall playground, Reid slowly munching on a pretzel bite. 

 

“Sorry that took me so long,” Rossi said, snatching a pretzel. “Reid? You okay?” He waved a hand in front of his face. 

 

“Yeah,” he said, snapping out of his trance. 

 

“We ready to go?” Garcia asked, joining them. The three nodded, and they started to walk. Morgan kept a close eye on the kid in the stroller, though, waiting for him to reveal what he was hiding. His prayers were answered when he suddenly deflated. Morgan looked around to see they were right in front of a build-a-bear. 

 

“Hey, Spencer, you wanna go in?” Morgan asked. He looked up, confused. 

 

“Where?” 

 

“In there,” he said, gesturing towards the store. Reid feigned disgust. 

 

“Pfft, no,” he said, sticking his tongue out. “I’m a grown ma… Yes, please.” 

 

Morgan grinned, and they went in. Reid ended up picking out a soft, brown bear with baby blue ears. A big blue ribbon was tied around in his neck and two ears. 

 

“You have to give it a kiss now,” the employee instructed. Reid was holding a tiny heart in his hands. 

 

He pressed the heart in his hands and held it close to his mouth. He whispered something to it before they put the heart inside of his bear. Once it was given back to him, he grabbed it tight. 

 

“You’re supposed to ask for things,” David scolded, tapping him. 

 

“I figured that was for necessities,” Reid shrugged, climbing back into the stroller with his bear. 

 

Once in the car, Reid sat in the back with Garcia. Rossi drove with Morgan in passenger. 

 

“Oh, I got you a present,” Garcia said, surprising him. She pulled out a bunny out of the bag. It was a darker brown with rosy pink ears. “I figured your bear would get lonely.” 

 

Reid accepted the big pink bunny. He smushed it in the bear together against his chest. “Thank you,” he said, smiling. Garcia pinched his cheek. 

 

“You’re so adorable,” she cooed. Reid blushed and turned to look out the window. “What’s your bear’s name?” 

 

“Maeve,” he mumbled weakly. Garcia flinched at the name. Rossi and Morgan stiffened in the front. “I dunno what to name the bunny, though.” 

 

“Is it a girl or a boy bunny?” Garcia asked. 

 

“It’s a stuffed animal, Garcia,” Spencer giggled. He stopped giggling when he noticed the view outside changing. “This isn’t the way home.” 

 

“Change of plans,” Rossi said simply. 

 

“Where are we going?” he asked, squirming. 

 

“It’s a surprise,” Morgan said simply. Reid crossed his arms and huffed. 

 

“Oh!” Reid said after a while. “We’re going to the zoo!” 

 

Rossi grimaced. “Well, that lasted a minute or two,” he sighed. “I don’t know what else I expected from a genius.” 

 

Reid grinned at the praise. “But why are we going to the zoo?” 

 

“For you,” Garcia said. “We know you like animals. Thought it’d be a nice break.”

 

“Oh, you didn’t have to--” 

 

“We didn’t have to do any of this,” Morgan said. “We’re doing it because we want to.” That seemed to shut him up. 

 

They climbed out of the car. JJ, Will, and Henry were parked next to them. “JJ!” Reid said, running to her. He stumbled on a rock, and he would’ve fell if Will hadn’t caught him. “Oops. Sorry!” 

 

“It’s okay,” Will smiled. 

 

Henry was attached to JJ. “Hi, I’m Henry!” he introduced, holding his hand out for a high-five. 

 

“I’m Walter,” Reid introduced. When he didn’t hold out his hand, Henry pouted. “I don’t shake, sorry.” 

 

Reid had moved his hand to explain, and Henry had slapped it. He recoiled from him instantly. “Ah!” he yelped, moving away. 

 

“It was just a high-five,” he said, scrunching his nose. Reid ran to Garcia, who looked out of place wearing heels to the zoo. Another car pulled up suddenly, and Hotch and Jack climbed out. “Hey, Jack!” The two greeted each other with a high-five. Spencer’s stomach dropped when Jack came up to him. “Don’t high-five him. He doesn’t like it.” 

 

“I know you,” Jack said. “You were at my house the other day.” He turned to look at the playground at the start of the zoo. “Let’s go play.” 

 

“Do you know how many accidents happen at playgrounds?” Reid asked. “More than 200,000 kids, this year alone, were injured on a playground.”

 

“You’re weird,” Henry said. “I want to go play.” 

 

Reid swallowed down memories from his childhood. He’s always going to stick out like this. “No, I’ll…” he gulped. “I’ll go play.” Will took the three over while the other adults bought the tickets and went to go sit. 

 

The playground was huge. For kids Jack and Henry’s size, it wasn’t as drastic, but to Spencer, the other kids were so much taller and rougher. Reid struggled to keep up with the two of them. They had joined a game of tag with the other kids, and when Jack had shoved Reid, he stumbled into a tunnel and hit his knee. 

 

The loud noise, the tight space, it all became too overwhelming. Reid wanted to cry out, but it was too much. “I barely touched him!” Jack defended. 

 

“Yeah, I know,” Henry said. “I barely touched him earlier, and he did the same thing.” 

 

Reid brought his knees to his chest and covered his ears. One of the smaller kids was there with her teenager and noticed. “Hey, are you okay?” the girl asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s your name? I’ll go get your parents.” 

 

“It’s too much,” he whimpered, curling in. “Make it stop!” 

 

A crowd had started to grow around. Reid wouldn’t come out of the tunnel, and it was backing up some of the kids. They had tried to climb over him since he was in the way, and it only made things worse. 

 

“I’ll get in trouble,” Jack grumbled. “I barely touched him!” 

 

The teenager took notice. “You know him?” When Jack and Henry didn’t answer, she crouched down. “It’s important you tell me. He’s really hurting.” 

 

“It’s not his fault,” Henry said. “He’s weak.” He pointed at Reid. 

 

“What’s his name?” the girl asked. She didn’t get an answer. 

 

“I’ll go tell my mommy,” Henry sighed. He ran off to the table. 

 

“Hey, what’s up, sweetie?” JJ asked. 

 

“It wasn’t Jack’s fault,” he started with, causing Hotch to get invested in the matter. All the adults looked to Henry, who was fumbling with his fingers. “It was an accident.” 

 

“What happened?” JJ demanded. Henry took off, motioning for his mother to follow. He led her to the tunnel, and the others watched closely. Hotch went with her. 

 

The teenaged girl was still sat outside. “Are you his mother?” she asked. 

 

JJ shook her head. “His mother is over there,” she said, gesturing to Garcia. “Walter? Walter, honey, come out?” 

 

Reid didn’t move. Hotch approached. “Jack, what happened?” 

 

“I barely touched him,” he repeated. “He’s like a baby.” 

 

“It’s true!” Henry spoke up. “When I high-fived him earlier, he freaked out.” 

 

Morgan joined the group. “Come on, Walter,” he called. He climbed into the slide, careful not to touch him. “Let’s get out of here. It’s gotta be scary in here?” He didn’t like the dark or cramped spaces. Reid nodded weakly. “Can I pick you up?” Reid didn’t nod or show any sign he heard him. “Can you crawl out of here?” Reid nodded, then, and he started to move. He crawled after Morgan, cautiously stepping outside. “Is your knee hurting?” Reid nodded. “I won’t pick you up, but can I hold your hand?” He reached out his hand, showing he was okay with it. He gently grabbed his hand, leading him to the others. 

 

“Mom, I swear, it wasn’t our fault,” Henry cried. 

 

JJ sat down and called the two boys over. “I know it’s not,” she whispered. “But kids like Walter need to be treated a little bit differently.” 

 

“He’s weird,” Jack said. 

 

“He’s just a bit different,” Hotch said. “He’s the same as you, but he has trouble playing the same way as you two.” 

 

“Like Harry!” Jack said.

 

Hotch nodded. “Just like your friend Harry,” he agreed. 

 

“Harry doesn’t like to play outside,” Jack said. “But he likes legos.” 

 

“I like legos,” Henry said. “Daddy and I built a house with ‘em.” He turned to JJ. “Does Walter like legos?” 

 

“I dunno,” JJ answered. “Why don’t you ask him?” 

 

When Morgan brought him to join the others, Reid was quiet. He climbed into the picnic table and sat next to Garcia. She was careful not to touch him. “Hey, guess who I have?” 

 

Reid looked at Garcia for a split second before looking to the others at the table, then he looks around at the noisy playground. A child starts crying in the background, and he stares. 

 

Garcia pulls out the stuffed bunny and waves it. “Look,” she said, waving it. She pulls out the bear. Reid reaches out and grabs the ribbon and plays with it. “Here, focus on me. Just ignore everything else.” 

 

Reid sniffled suddenly. “I,” he struggled, focusing on Garcia. He reached out to touch the bracelet on her wrist. 

 

“You want me to put your hair up?” Garcia hummed, noticing the sweat on his forehead. “It’s pretty hot out.” He nodded. Garcia braided the top of his hair and put it into a tiny ponytail. “There! That better?” He nodded, still pulling at the bracelet. 

 

Henry and Jack approached suddenly. “Sorry about hurting you earlier, Walter,” Jack said. Henry opened his arms up. He leaned in to hug Reid, and he recoiled. 

 

“Do you not like me?” Henry’s bottom lip started to recoil. The adults were quick to diffuse the situation, but Jack beat them to it. 

 

“He doesn’t like hugs,” Jack says. “Harry doesn’t like it either.” 

 

“I like you,” Reid says, waving. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” 

 

Henry scrunched his nose. “Why do you have a pink bow? Are you a girl?” 

 

Reid didn’t look offended. He shrugged. “No, I’m a boy.” 

 

“Oh,” Jack says. “Is that your favorite color?” 

 

“No, I like purple,” he says, showing his nails. 

 

“I like red,” Henry says. “Your hair is long, too. Like a girl.” 

 

“I’m a boy,” Reid repeated, now frowning. 

 

Henry opened his mouth to argue, but Will cut him off. “Let’s go check out the animals now, huh?” 

 

The group got up and started to walk around. Jack and Henry headed to the front of the group. Henry called for him to catch up, but Reid was too small. The two older boys charged to look at the elephants. “Go on,” Morgan pushed. Reid looked up at him, hesitant. “Go look.” He joined the other two, climbing on the perch to get a view. Still, he was too short to see. He pouted.

 

“He’s not getting along with them,” JJ noticed. Rossi and Hotch looked to her. She dug her hands into her jean pockets and sighed. 

 

“Well, he’s not a real kid,” Rossi said.

 

“No, it’s more than that,” Hotch said. “Autism is more apparent in children.” 

 

JJ’s eyes widened. “You mean--?”

 

“We always knew,” Hotch continued. 

 

Jack ran up to Hotch suddenly. “Daddy, let’s go look at the pandas!” He tugged at him, and Hotch moved along. Henry ran up to JJ, Will with him. He said something similar to Jack, and the group moved to the next exhibit.

 

The panda bears were in the back, so even at Jack’s height, he couldn’t see the bear. “Daddy, pick me up!” Jack was lifted up, and he happily looked out. JJ scooped up her own kid and let him look out at the bear. 

 

Reid, once again a few feet behind, slowly trudged up. This one, too, he couldn’t see. 

 

Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi hung in the back. They were all listening intently to Rossi, who was in the midst of explaining a story. All of them failed to notice the silent Reid. 

 

Hotch pressed a finger against the glass. “See him?” Jack squinted. “Over there?” 

 

Reid struggled to see. Jack lit up. “Oh! I see him!” 

 

Reid gave up trying to see. He wandered back to the others. “Hey, bud,” Morgan said. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah,” he lied, not really having fun. He couldn’t see any of the exhibits afterall. 

 

They moved to the next exhibit. Tigers. 

 

Again, Jack and Henry had to be given a boost. Reid hummed, cleverly climbing on the rocks. He was about to catch a glimpse, when he dropped his bunny. He gasped, reaching through the rail to grab it. He poked his head through to get closer, and he slipped. His stomach got caught on the bar, and he tried to inch closer to the bunny. He almost reached it when something caught his leg. He was yanked out of there. “Reid, what the heck?” Morgan asked, confused and worried. 

 

“I dropped my bunny,” he mumbled, pointing. He went to reach for it, and Morgan put a hand on his shoulder. 

 

“I’ll get it, okay?” Morgan easily reached through and picked up the stuffed animal. He passed it to Reid, who happily hugged it. 

 

“Thanks, Morgan,” he said. 

 

“The tiger was so cool!” Jack squealed. “Didn’t you think so, Walt?” 

 

“Yeah,” he lied. He didn’t even get to see it. 

 

They got to their fourth exhibit. Jack was now sitting on top of his father’s shoulders. This time, Reid left the bunny in his stroller. He stood on his tippy toes. It was pointless. Sighing, he headed back to the others. 

 

After a few moments, the group started to move on, when Jack cried out. “Do you not like animals?” 

 

Reid blinked. “I do,” he replied, confused. He was afraid he was starting to stand out even more. 

 

Will, watching the interaction, sighed. He kneeled down. “Hey, can I pick you up?” he whispered gently. Reid looked up at him hesitantly. “You wanna see the lion, don’t you?”

 

Reid nodded, and Will carefully picked him up. Reid instantly screeched, a bit loud. “Look! Look!” he cheered, tapping him. He let out a loud giggle, causing the others to look at him. “There’s three! Did you know that lions are one of the most social animals? They live in a pride, which is a big group of lions, where the majority of which are female lions.” 

 

“You ready to move on?” Hotch asked. Jack was sat on a nearby bench with the others. He was kicking his feet, obviously bored of the lions. 

 

“Nah,” he shrugged. “Besides, this is the first one Walt got to see.” He pointed at the boy, who was still scooped up in Will’s arms. The others gawked. 

 

They had all assumed his distance was from the incident at the playground earlier. Really, Reid had just been too shy to ask to be picked up so he could see. Realization dawned on them, and Morgan sighed. “When will he learn?” 

 

“Thanks, Will,” Reid said, grinning. “You can put me down now.” 

 

“Dr. Reid, you could stand to be less stubborn,” Will scolded. “They wanted to bring you here, so you could have a good time. It’s selfish of you to not enjoy yourself.” 

 

Reid bit his lip. “I didn’t mean to be a burden,” he sniffled. 

 

“They want you to have fun. You can’t do that if you don’t ask for stuff,” Will said, putting him down. 

 

At the next exhibit, Reid hung back. Will watched him closely. Swallowing down his nervousness, he worked up the courage to ask Morgan. “Hey, Morgan?” He had to glance to Will for comfort, who gave him a thumbs up. “Will you pick me up?” 

 

He was deathly quiet. “Sure thing,” he said, hoisting him up so he could see the ox. Reid broke out of his shell, then, suddenly confident. Once he was back on the ground, he grabbed ahold of Morgan’s pantleg and pulled. 

 

“Let’s see the snakes next!” he cheered loudly, drawing the attention of the others. They smiled at him, now that he was actually enjoying himself. 

 

They entered the building. It was so crowded in there, and Reid was so small that he just kinda slipped through. He had been so captivated by a lionfish that he failed to notice the group had moved on. “Morgan, look--! Morgan?” 

 

He looked around, but he couldn’t find him. He raced back to the start, but he couldn’t find anyone. 

 

He found himself near the bathrooms. There was a mother, who was rocking her crying baby. Reid gulped and sunk to the floor. 

 

“You lost, little boy?” An older woman asked cautiously. He nodded. “Oh, that’s okay. I’ll help you.” She grabbed ahold of him suddenly, and Reid started screaming. However, she had already drug him through the emergency exit, and there was no one in sight. She pulled out a small knife. “I’ll slit your pretty throat if you don’t shut up.” 

 

Reid whimpered quietly. He closed his eyes tight, hoping it was just a nightmare. When he didn’t wake up in Rossi’s soft bed, he wanted to cry. 

 

But he didn’t cry. He could be strong. His family would find him, afterall. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a PAIN in the butt to write,,,,
> 
> also there is an actual plot line (that i didn't forget about) but writing filler chapters is just so much fun~
> 
> thank you all so much for reading and comment and leaving a kudos!!! you're the best and i love y'all ty ty ty


	6. adventures w/ melatonin

Henry and Jack were glued to the anaconda tank. “He’s gonna eat you,” Will teased, scaring his son. Henry laughed. “Can anacondas eat humans?”

 

Rossi grinned. “That’s a question for Reid,” he said, looking around. “Where is Reid, anyways?” 

 

Morgan walked up with Garcia. She lifted up a bag of popcorn. “Morgan, where’s Reid?” Rossi asked. 

 

“Thought he was with you,” Garcia pointed. Their eyes widened. “Maybe he’s with Hotch?” 

 

“Uh-huh. He’s been avoiding Hotch all day,” Rossi said, taking off. He flagged down a security guard. “My grandson is lost.” He gave an ID to the employee, and he whispered something into the walkie talkie. “Oh, don’t worry. Your grandson is safe with his grandmother.” 

 

“I’m not married,” Rossi said quickly. “Contain her immediately.” 

 

Thankfully, Reid was pretty easy to spot. He stood out from being a boy with a huge pink bow in his braided hair. The woman was being handcuffed when the group caught up with them. 

 

Reid ran to Rossi. “Grandpa, I’m scared,” he said, faking an act. 

 

It took a while to diffuse the situation, but finally the zoo employees left them alone. Eventually, a police car came to take away the lady. However, they couldn’t press charges, not since Reid wasn’t actually his grandson. He simply flashed his credentials, and they left them alone. 

 

“Poor baby,” Garcia squealed. “You’ve had a rough day.” 

 

“I wasn’t actually scared,” Spencer said with an eye roll. “I knew you guys would save me. You always do.” Despite his words, his eyes were watering. He had started to cry and shake. 

 

Rossi gave him a tight hug, and Spencer sunk into it. “You guys keep going,” Rossi said. “We’ll catch up with you later.” 

 

Rossi took him to a quiet place where he could gently rock him. Reid cried quietly, choking on his sobs. “Now, why don’t you tell me why you’re avoiding Hotch again?” 

 

“I, I, uh, I don’t know what you’re,” he let out a sob, “talking about.” 

 

“You’re okay,” Rossi consoled, rubbing circles into his back. “You can tell me. I’m too good of a profiler not to notice it. Now, come on. Spit it out.” 

 

Hesitantly, Spencer spoke, “It’s just… He has his own son to worry about. I don’t wanna be like Stephen.” 

 

“Stephen?” Rossi asked. “Gideon’s son?” 

 

Reid nodded. “I was a replacement for him. Then, when Gideon reconnected with him, I had the audacity to be jealous!” He let out a sobbing laugh. “How could I do that? He’s not even my dad.” 

 

“He’s not trying to replace Jack with you,” Rossi explained. “This is different.” Reid let out another sob. He just started sobbing openly, and Rossi started to hum a song. It seemed to comfort Reid because he stopped crying soon. “You wanna go join the others now?” 

 

When they reached them, Henry and Jack were checking out at the gift shop. Henry was holding a stuffed animal, and Jack had picked out a shark tooth necklace. He held it out so Reid could see it. 

 

“See something you like?” Hotch asked suddenly. Jack was already putting on his necklace. Reid had been looking at a lion stuffed animal. Hotch picked it up. Reid’s eyes widened as Hotch set it down on the counter. 

 

“I can get it myself,” Reid said. “I have money.” 

 

“Three-year-olds don’t have bank accounts,” Morgan said. Hotch bought it and handed it to Reid, whose brown eyes were puffy from crying. 

 

“Thanks, Hotch,” he said. Hotch smiled and engulfed him in a hug. Rossi hadn’t even had to say anything to him. He could tell Reid missed him. He knew from the fact that he left as soon as Jack got home. 

 

“You’re a part of my team,” Hotch said. “You’ll always be my family.” Reid started to sob again. He picked him up and rocked him. 

 

“Daddy, why’s Walter crying?” Henry asked, tugging at Will. 

 

“Walt, are you okay?” Jack asked, worried. 

 

Reid’s eyes fluttered shut. “He wore himself out,” JJ sighed. “Poor thing.” 

 

When Reid awoke, he was on Rossi’s bed. His stuffed animals surrounded him, and he was wearing a set of animal themed pajamas. He rolled out of the bed, thumping the floor. He winced and picked up his bear. He made it to the bottom of the stairs when he was spotted. “Baby boy’s awake,” Morgan announced. Reid runs to him. “How you feeling?” Reid’s stomach growls in response. He led him into Rossi’s kitchen. 

 

Morgan set down a cup of applesauce and a baby spoon. Reid struggled to tear off the wrapper. Even after Morgan offered to tear it off for him, Reid continued to struggle. Eventually, he took the spoon and stabbed the applesauce. Applesauce splattered, landing on his face. He licked it off. 

 

After he finished his snack, Morgan wiped him down. He pulled out a pair of swim trunks and told Reid to change. 

 

After he changed into shark themed swim trunks and one of his athletic fit shirts, he headed outside. Henry was hugging the side of the pool, and Jack was about to jump off the diving board. “Walt!” he called, sprinting over. He went to grab his hand, which Reid snatched his hand away. Remembering, Jack gave him space. “Wanna have a cannonball contest?” 

 

Reid didn’t really want to, but he didn’t want Jack to hate him. He followed him over to the diving board. “Henry, you be the judge!” Jack jumped, and he was under for a few seconds before swimming to the side. Henry gave him a thirty. What were they scoring out of? Who knows. 

 

Reid climbed on the board. He was about to jump when Hotch snagged him. “Uh-huh,” he said, pulling him off. He started rubbing his face down with a sunscreen stick, then he sprayed the rest of his body. 

 

Rossi approached with arm floaties. Reid frowned as he slid them on. “I can swim,” he said, starting to take them off. Rossi gave him a glare. “Fine.” He stumbled back to the diving board. He jumped off, but the floaties kept him from going under. He struggled to swim, but he couldn’t get to the side. Hotch jumped in after him, causing a huge splash to cover all three kids and Rossi. He swam and helped Reid reach the two-feet section. JJ had just finished blowing up a baby float with a hood, and Morgan dropped the small kid into it. He kicked his feet happily. 

 

Garcia was sitting with her feet in the pool. Emily came around through the back door, holding up a bag. “Hey, guys,” she greeted. “Sorry I’m late.” 

 

Will looked up from the grill as Emily sat down a grocery bag. “Lots of ice cream,” she whispered with a wink. “Hey, Reid!” She shouts, startling Reid who had been relaxing in the float. 

 

“He’s had a rough day,” Garcia explained. Emily comes down to sit by her in the pool. 

 

“Em! Come swim with me,” Reid said, reaching out. Emily smiled and scooped him out of the float. “I missed you today.” 

 

“I know,” she sighed. “I wished I could’ve gone with you, but I had to take Sergio to the vet. I missed you so much, sweetie. Did you have fun?” 

 

Reid nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said, remembering the day’s events. “I almost got murdered.” He laughs it off. “I’m okay, though.” 

 

“Jesus,” she cursed, holding him tighter. “You’ve seen some serious shit.” 

 

“Emily!” he scolded, hitting her gently. “There’s other kids here.” 

 

She rolled her eyes. “Hey, what’s that on your face?” 

 

“Huh?” Reid asked. Emily reached forward and swiped at him. 

 

“I got your nose!” 

 

Reid, unamused, blinks back. “Emily,” he states. “That’s impossible.” 

 

“Oh, is it?” she hummed. She opened her hand to where Reid couldn’t see her palm. “I’m looking at it right now. It’s in my hand.” 

 

He scowled. “It’s not possible,” he repeated, watching her wave her hand. “Emily, give me back my nose.” 

 

Smirking at the fact Reid couldn’t help but go along, she backed away from him. He was left to float in the water. “No,” she said. 

 

“Emily! Gimme my nose!” he shouted loudly, causing the others to look over. Even Jack stopped from throwing the beachball to look at the struggling toddler. “Thief! Thief!” 

 

He struggled to reach her hand. Once he almost caught it, Emily moved her hand. “No, it’s mine now,” she hissed. 

 

“Well, I’m going to steal yours,” he growled, tapping her face. “And I’m not giving it back. Not even if you ask nicely!” 

 

Emily shrugged. “Guess we’ll both be nose-less.” 

 

“Hmph,” Reid said. He splashed water at her suddenly. She ducked under the water. Reid saw her come close, but he couldn’t swim away quick enough. She burst from the water, lifting him up, and watched him throw his hands in the air. “Emily!” He was laughing loudly. “Emily!” 

 

The sound of him laughing was calming to all of them. Even Jack and Henry had noticed the mood he had been in, and they seemed to settle more as he was at ease. Henry made his way over. “Give him his nose back!” he demanded. 

 

Reid was surprised, to say the least. Henry started to splash at Emily. “Okay! I’ll give it back,” she surrendered. She lightly smacked Reid on the nose. “There.” 

 

Henry grinned in victory. “Thank you,” Reid said, smiling. He held his hand out to Emily. “You can have your nose back.” 

 

She smiles and takes it back. 

 

“Food’s ready!” Will announced. Emily drags him out of the pool and seats him in a booster chair at the table. A hamburger is plopped down in front of him. Will goes to set one down in front of Garcia, who gives him a look. He smiles sheepishly before placing down fruit on the table. She reached for it and smiled. 

 

They dug into their food, minus Reid. He stared at his gigantic burger. “Uh, Morgan?” Morgan set down his burger. Noticing the size of his burger, Morgan cut it up into pieces. He picked up the small pieces and plomped them into his mouth. Despite the small size, it was still difficult to eat. He started to reach for the fruit instead. 

 

He happily bit into the watermelon, letting juice roll out of his mouth. Morgan snickers before wiping off the mess. 

 

They dug out the ice cream, and the group got through it pretty quickly. Thankfully, Emily had also brought some popsicles. 

 

Henry had insisted on opening his own. He was big enough now that he could, but his hands still weren’t that steady. He let the popsicle slip out of his hands and land on the floor. His lip started to quiver when Will reacted. “Let’s get you a new one.” 

 

Emily frowned, shaking the box. “There’s no more,” she reported. Henry’s eyes widened as if he was going to cry. 

 

Morgan had just unwrapped Reid’s. Surely any of the adults would’ve given there’s up for the crying child, but Reid beat them to it. “Henry, you can have mine,” Reid said, walking up to him. He held it out. 

 

“Are you sure?” Henry asked, eyes wide. Reid smiled and nodded. 

 

“A thank you for getting my nose back,” he said, handing it to him. Will held it up for Henry, so that he wouldn’t drop it. 

 

“That’s very sweet of you,” Will says. Reid smiled. Henry dropped down out of his chair and reached to pull Reid into a hug. However, he remembered at the last second that Reid didn’t like that. 

 

He thought hard for a few minutes. Henry’s eyebrows had furrowed together and his face was starting to turn red from thinking so intensely. Finally, he raised his hand. “Air-Five!” he announced, grinning. Reid blinked. “You don’t have to actually touch my hand. Just pretend.” When Reid still doesn’t understand, Jack raises his hand. They demonstrate, and Reid copies. Henry grins. “Yeah!”

 

JJ smiles as Will presses a kiss to her cheek. “It’s nice they’re getting along,” she notes, and Hotch nods in agreement. 

 

“Let’s go swim!” Jack said, done with his food. He sprinted back to the pool. “Walt, you coming?” 

 

“In a bit,” he said, climbing up. JJ and Will went to watch the kids, and Reid sat with the adults. He sat on Garcia’s lap, stealing some of her watermelon. 

 

Emily lay on one of the beach chairs. Her black hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and she closed her eyes. She took off her sunglasses and placed them at the table. “Emily, it’s dangerous to nap outside,” he says. 

 

“Not napping,” she replies. “I’m tanning.” 

 

“Oh,” Reid says. “It looks like napping.” 

 

Emily pats the space next to her. Reid climbs up and lays down next to her. He copies her, but he falls asleep. After half an hour, Emily moves to flip sides. She pokes at Reid, who was curled up in a tight ball. “No…” 

 

“Spencer?” she asked, poking him again. He writhed around. 

 

“No! Please, I don’t want it,” he cried, thrashing. 

 

Jack and Henry pointed at the crying child. “Mommy, what’s wrong with him?” 

 

“It’s just a nightmare,” Emily consoled. “Wake up. Come on, Reid.” 

 

When he finally woke up, he was screaming. He shot up, his chest rising and falling quickly, and he glanced around nervously. He was sobbing. Emily picked him up and held him close. His head moved over her chest where he could hear her heartbeat. He started to tap his fingers along with the beating of her heart. She noticed this and smiled. “There you go,” she soothed. “You’re okay.” He was still crying softly. “Bad dream?” He cried out louder suddenly. “You don’t have to talk about it.” 

 

Garcia came to the rescue. She reached into a bag and pulled out a pacifier. Reid saw it and moved away from it. “It’ll help,” she promised. He opens his mouth and reluctantly sucks on the pink pacifier. To everyone’s wonder, it works. His crying stops. He sucks on it, and his eyelids start to droop. He hiccups every so often, but other than that, he’s quiet. He falls asleep against Emily’s chest to the sound of her heart. 

 

Jack and Henry start playing again. An hour later, Reid’s eyes flutter open, not in a panic this time. He sits up slowly. “Hey, bud,” Emily greets. He rubbed at his eyes. He slips off of the chair and starts to walk around. Despite his protest earlier, he doesn’t take out the pacifier. He walks to the table where Will and Hotch are sitting. They greet him, but Reid doesn’t reply. He wanders over to where Garcia and Morgan are sitting in the stairs of the pool. He steps in between them, carefully lowering his toes into the water. He’s tall enough that he can sit on the very top step of the water, but he can’t go any lower than that. 

 

“Mommy, I’m tired,” Henry griped. “Can we go inside?” 

 

“Me too,” Jack agreed. “I brought some movies.” 

 

They raced inside to go get changed. Reid didn’t move. He hiccuped loudly. “You ready to go in, Reid?” 

 

The others moved to go inside. Garcia was waiting for him to get up when he raised his arms up. She scooped him up. “Nnn!” Reid cried around the pacifier. She had carried him inside, and he started reaching towards Rossi. She handed him over. She went with the girls to go get changed. 

 

Rossi took him upstairs and set him down on the bathroom counter. He dried him off, then dressed him in a soft romper. Then he tied his hair up in a ponytail. Rossi left him on the bed so he could change into his regular clothes. When he came back, Reid had fished a baby blanket out of one of the bags from the mall. 

 

Now armed with his blue paci, his soft mickey mouse blanket, his stuffed animals, and his pajamas, Reid wandered into the living room. Jack was settled in next to Hotch, and Henry was sat on Will’s lap. Reid joined them on the couch. 

 

“Where’s your dad, Walt?” Henry asked. 

 

Reid slipped the pacifier out of his mouth. “My father is gone,” he said, looking sad. 

 

“Oh,” Jack said. “My mom went away too. I miss her. Do you miss your dad?” Hotch pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead. 

 

“I miss my mom,” Reid said, and he was telling the truth. He couldn’t have felt more out of place. Both the two kids got to sit on their mom or dad’s lap, but Reid had to sit alone. He sniffled, and Rossi, who had just walked down the stairs, lifted him up and set him on his lap. Reid instantly cheered up. 

 

“Luckily, Walt’s got his favorite grandpa to keep him company,” Rossi said, ruffling his hair. 

 

The dark mood lightens. JJ holds up a handful of DVDs. “What’re we watching?” she asked, flipping through them. She held them out. Henry shrugged. He’d seen them all. 

 

Jack looked at them. “I dunno,” he huffed. “Walt?” 

 

Reid crawled over his lap to look. He pulled out one DVD, surprising the others. “Care Bears?” JJ asked. Reid nodded. 

 

The other two boys didn’t argue. The adults were less than thrilled, but Reid looked so excited. He put the pacifier back in his mouth and moved to the edge of his seat. “I’ve seen this movie, like, a kajillion times,” Jack says halfway through the movie. Henry is nibbling on a fig newton. 

 

The other boys get into a conversation, but Reid could care less. He’s more invested in the movie. When it ends, the others shift, ready to head home for the night, but Reid isn’t done. He’s still flipping through the DVDs when the others head to the door. Emily, Will, JJ, Henry, Jack, and Hotch all bid their goodbyes and leave. However, before Morgan and Garcia even moved to get up, Reid walked up to them. Flashing them with his puppy dog eyes, he asks, “Do you wanna have a sleepover?” 

 

“Of course,” Garcia says. 

 

“Hey, Rossi, we’re staying over tonight!” Morgan called, making Reid grin. Rossi mumbles something about freeloaders under his breath, but he doesn’t seem actually bothered. 

 

Reid is sat on Garcia’s lap with the movies sprawled in front of him. “Honey, who did your hair?” she asked, un-doing the ponytail. “Don’t tell me you did that.” 

 

“Rossi did,” he mumbled. Garcia braided his hair again. “Thank you, Garcia.” 

 

“Of course, sweetheart.” Reid wrapped himself in the blanket. “Oh, Henry left his movies… Ooh! Princess and the Frog!” 

 

“Oh, I’ve read the book,” Reid said. 

 

“Probably some morbid version,” Garcia noted. “This is my favorite Disney princess, though. That, or Ariel…” 

 

Rossi settled down in the living room with a bottle of wine. He poured some into a glass and offered some to Morgan and Garcia. Garcia got up to grab it, and Reid put a movie into the tray. 

 

“What’d you pick, sweet thing?” 

 

They sat through a couple Disney princess movies when Hotch suddenly called. “Hey, Hotch,” Rossi greeted. “Hm? Nah, he’s still up. Oh, you wanna talk to him?” He put him on the phone. 

 

“Hey, bud,” Hotch greeted. “What’re they doing keeping you up so late?” 

 

“We’re watching  _ Brave,”  _ Reid replied. “And we just finished  _ Princess and the Frog  _ and  _ Ariel.”  _

 

“You don’t have to pick movies for their sake,” Hotch sighed. 

 

“But she said it was her favorite,” Reid argued. 

 

Garcia sighed, eavesdropping. “I’ll watch whatever you want to.” 

 

“Reid needs to go to bed. We don’t need a cranky toddler at work tomorrow,” Hotch ordered. “Goodnight, team. Don’t let them keep you up too late, Reid.” He hung up then. 

 

Reid was frowning. “I’m not sleepy,” he mumbled. He let out a yawn on cue. Garcia scooped him up. 

 

“Let’s go tuck you in,” she announced, slipping the covers over him. Rossi sat on the edge of his bed with his laptop pulled out. They were about to leave when Reid cried out. 

 

“Wait! What about the sleepover?” Garcia blinked. Reid patted the space next to him. “Morgan!” Garcia looked hesitant to Rossi, who only shrugged. “Rossi’s bed is big enough.” 

 

“It’s gonna break,” Rossi grumbled, closing his eyes. However, he didn’t protest as Garcia slipped in. 

 

Hearing his name called, Morgan popped his head into the room. Reid hadn’t yet fallen asleep. “Morgan!” he called, reaching out to him. Morgan climbed on the other side of the bed next to Garcia. “Night!” 

 

They were too exhausted to stay awake any longer. 

 

Reid was the first to wake up. He’s not much of an early bird, but the nightmares kept him from wanting to sleep. By the time he was up, Rossi was stirring in his bed. 

 

Thankfully, a stool had been moved into the bathroom for little Reid. He was able to reach the toilet by himself, and when he was done, he moved the stool over to the sink so he could wash his hands. He happily strolled out of the bathroom to bump into Rossi. “Where are you going?” he asked in a light-hearted tone. 

 

“Rossi,” he chirped, “Put me down. I gotta get dressed for work.” 

 

Rossi clucked his tongue. “You’re taking a bath first,” he ordered. Reid pouted. 

 

“Okay, but you have to get out,” he growled, pushing against the older man, but it was no point. He wouldn’t budge. “Rossi!” He stomped his foot. 

 

“Whoa, no need to throw a tantrum,” Rossi said, “you don’t want to wake up Garcia, do you?” 

 

Reid stopped instantly. There was no way in hell he’d let her give him a bath. “Okay.” Defeated, he sat on the toilet cover and struggled to get his socks off. Once he was changed, he climbed into the tub. Rossi’s bathtub was super fancy compared to the one at the hotel, and Reid relaxed at the jets. 

 

Rossi poured a mixture into the tub, which later formed tiny bubbles. Reid started to scoop them up in his hands and bury his face into the bubbles. Smiling, he blew the bubbles, watching them pop in the air. He blew one into Rossi’s face. 

 

Rossi wiped him down quickly. At this rate, they were probably going to be late. Drying him off with a towel, he looked to one of the outfits Garcia had picked out. He dressed Reid in a shirt that had a couple of strawberries on it and said “I love you berry much” and peach colored shorts. He slipped on a green and a pink sock and ventured out into the room where Garcia and Morgan were waking up. 

 

“Morning!” Reid cheered, climbing up. Garcia rolled over. “Wake up, Garcia!” 

 

She slowly sat up. “Mama slept in her makeup last night,” she grumbled. “Oh, you look adorable! Oh, I know just what to wear today.” She slung her purse over her shoulder. She pressed a kiss to Reid’s cheek. “See you in a bit!” Garcia left, leaving Reid to Morgan. 

 

“Are you gonna go home and change?” Reid asked, looking at Morgan’s sweats. 

 

“My go-bag is in the locker room, so I’ll just change when we get there. For now, I think we should get breakfast.” 

 

“Already ahead of you,” Rossi chimed. 

 

Rossi packed a lunch box into Reid’s stroller. He put another bag aside. “Come here,” he beckoned. “Let’s get you to work.” He handed Reid his breakfast bag. 

 

“Wait,” Reid mumbled, trudging his feet. Morgan and Rossi were already heading towards the car. “My bear?” Morgan retrieved the bear, bunny, and lion and stuffed them into his stroller. Rossi carried his diaper bag, armed with his pacifier, blanket, and other supplies of his. 

 

Rossi was pushing Reid into the bullpen when one of the agents stopped by. “Aw, she’s the cutest,” she sang. “What’s her name?” 

 

“Walt is my grandson,” Rossi said, emphasizing the son. A crowd had started to draw around. Emily and Hotch had heard them arrive and went to say hello, but they were blocked out from the woman. 

 

She laughed. “Well, he looks like a girl,” she said. “His hair’s too long. You even painted the poor boy’s nails! How humiliating…” 

 

“It’s not humiliating,” Reid spoke suddenly. His choice of vocabulary startled the crowd. Hotch sighed. His cover was going to be blown. “You are under the primitive mindset that it’s degrading to like things stereotypically feminine, and by the cross around your neck, I’m assuming you practice Christianity. In the Bible, it was a sin to cut your hair.” He looked at his nails then at hers. “I think it’s humiliating to parade your nails around. They’re chipped terribly.” 

 

Reid looked at the stares he was getting. The lady’s jaw was dropped to the floor. “What the fuck?” she breathed. The second she cursed in front of the kid, the crowd was upon her. She apologized and scurried away. 

 

His team swarmed to comfort Reid, who had been just attacked basically, but he didn’t seem bothered. “I’m hungry,” Reid said. 

 

Reid picked at the hem of his shirt. “Hey, Reid,” Emily asked carefully. All the team members were eyeing her carefully. “Do you want to go change?” 

 

“People keep thinking I’m a girl,” he said, kicking his feet. “I’m sorry.” 

 

“Why are you sorry?” JJ asked. 

 

“I keep causing a lot of trouble,” he replied. 

 

“Oh, it’s no trouble,” Emily promised. “Come on. Let’s go get you changed, alright?” 

 

Reid sniffled, now looking bothered. “It’s okay,” JJ diffused. “You have clothes in the locker room.” He started to cry, and JJ panicked. She picked him up, thinking he was embarrassed by the pink. 

 

Garcia arrived in all her glory. Her hair was pulled into two double buns, both of which were tied with a strawberry bow. She wore a pink dress with pink fishnet tights. Her strappy heels added a lot of height to her. “Why does baby boy look so sad?” 

 

“Some nasty bitch made fun of his clothes, saying stuff like boys can’t wear pink. It’s okay, though, cause we can get you a change of clothes,” JJ repeated. 

 

Garcia frowned, holding a strawberry themed bow in her hand. “Aw, that’s too bad…” 

 

Reid sniffled. “I’m sorry, but you said I could be selfish!” He reached for the bow. “Please, can I wear it?” Garcia happily clipped it in his hair, much to the other’s surprise. He smiled. “Thank you!” 

 

“Are you sure you want to wear that?” Morgan asked, not judgemental. He just figured Reid would be more comfortable in something… more manly, is all. 

 

“If it’s okay,” he said back with teary eyes. 

 

“Oh, of course, it’s okay,” Garcia said, scooping him up. “Especially when you look this adorable!” 

 

Garcia set him down, and he ran up to Emily. “I like your bow,” Emily compliments. 

 

Reid grins ear to ear. “Thank you!” 

 

“If I had known we were doing a theme, I would’ve worn something,” JJ sighed. “I guess I missed the memo.” Reid’s grin fades. He sadly trudges up to JJ. He unclips the bow and offers it to her. “Oh, no, sweetie, it’s okay.” 

 

“You don’t want to match with us?” Reid asked, breathless. JJ gulped. Garcia came to the rescue. 

 

“I have some more,” she said, pulling out various berry themed clips. She passed one to Emily, too. 

 

Reid was handed another small hair clip, to which he ran to Rossi and Hotch with. Hotch shook his head, breaking Reid’s heart. Rossi took one and put it in his own hair, making Reid grin. Hotch sighed and reluctantly clipped it in. He looked quite hilarious, still stern as ever, but he wasn’t stern enough to tell Reid he couldn’t wear the brightly colored clip. 

 

Lastly, Morgan. He didn’t have any hair to put a clip in. Thankfully, Garcia had a hairband to wrap around his head. This one managed to look the most extravagant, however, having a large plush strawberry glued to the top of it. Reid flashed him puppy eyes that he couldn’t say no to. 

 

All day the team wore those, except Hotch, who only wore it when Reid was around. 

 

Everyone dug into their work, but every so often one of the team members got up to go check on Reid, who was in the lab. This time, he hadn’t fallen over his desk, but actually, it was quite the opposite of how he acted the last time he was here. He was all over the place. Last time, he could quietly sit back in his desk and avoid suspicion, but now he was darting off the walls. Anderson looked like he was going to have a heart attack. 

 

“Who’s child is this?” he exclaimed. 

 

Rossi had just chosen that moment to walk in. “Hey, Reid, let’s go take a break,” he said, accidently slipping his real name. Anderson noticed, but the two were gone before he could ask. Reid instantly tore into his lunch box. “Come on. Sit down.” He was too restless. “Reid.” 

 

With a sigh, he climbed on top of Rossi. At least he was finally sitting… Reid pulled out a cheese stick and started to munch on it. While he was distracted, Rossi shot Hotch a text saying he was in desperate need of melatonin. His savior arrived a few minutes later. Hotch was holding up a sippy cup, to which he handed to Reid. Reid practically chugged down the chocolate milk. 

 

He lifted up his PBJ sandwich. His tiny mouth caused him to eat at a turtle pace, so Rossi had gotten used to waiting patiently. He was taking a suspicious amount of time to finish, though, as he fell asleep mid-bite. Rossi plucked it out of his mouth and put it back in the box. 

 

He brought him into Garcia’s office, so he could lay down in the cot. With a small smile, Rossi watched Garcia cover him in a blanket. 

 

Rossi returned to his office. 

 

Oh God. They were all so bored. Reid had been their entertainment, but now that he was little, his desk was empty. Morgan dropped his pen on the desk, giving up. “I need a break,” he grumbled. 

 

“Second that,” JJ growled back. “This is awful.” 

 

Plus, they were extra bored, as there were no cases going on. “I got coffee?” Emily offered, sliding them some. She had hoped it’d help with the boredom. 

 

“I’m gonna go get something,” Morgan said, slipping on his jacket. “You want anything while I’m out?” 

 

The two didn’t answer. It’s not that they didn’t want anything -- after all, they were all starving. Nah, they didn’t answer because they didn’t get a chance to. They couldn’t because a sudden screaming sent them into overdrive. 

 

They could recognize the sound of Reid’s screaming from miles away. 

 

They broke into Garcia’s office. She was collapsed on the ground, not moving. Reid was sitting by her, sobbing uncontrollably. “What happened?” Hotch asked, arriving on the scene. Rossi was with him. 

 

“I, I,” Reid stammered. “I can’t… I, I, can’t get her to… She won’t wake up!” He let out another wail. Rossi went to comfort him, and he scrambled away. 

 

“Call an ambulance,” Hotch ordered, and as if on cue, Garcia started to stir. 

 

She sat up slowly, grabbing her head. “Garcia, are you okay?” Reid exclaimed, still sobbing. “I was so scared!” 

 

She let out a yawn. “I don’t know what happened…” she trailed off. 

 

“I think I do,” Rossi said bitterly, holding up the cup. “You drank some of Reid’s chocolate milk?” 

 

“Yeah,” she hummed, confused. 

 

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Hotch summed up. 

 

“Hey, baby boy, I’m okay,” Garcia summed up. “Look. I’m fine. I just fell asleep.” 

 

Reid wouldn’t stop crying. The tears continued to roll, and he couldn’t stop gasping for air between sobs. Hotch went to pick him up, and he screamed. The blood-curdling screech caused Hotch to carefully drop him. 

 

“Hey, I’m okay, and you’re okay,” Garcia said. She looked to the crowd. “I love you all, but you need to leave. You’re upsetting my lil’ prince.” 

 

“Garcia, we can’t--” 

 

“Sir, please,” Garcia demanded. “Out.” 

 

They reluctantly left the wailing child alone with Garcia. Even though they left the room, they waited outside for the crying to stop. 

 

They could hear Garcia’s muffled voice through the door. “Here’s Maeve,” Garcia was saying, and she was handing over the stuffed bear. “And your bunny. And, oh, who’s this?” 

 

Reid’s wailing paused. “H-Hotch g-got him, for, for me,” he replied, sobbing. He reached for the lion. “I… I…” 

 

“You’re okay! Just focus on me,” she said. “I just fell asleep earlier. I’m okay. Look. Nothing’s wrong. See?” 

 

Reid let out a harsh sob. “You’re bleeding!” 

 

“Oh, no, no,” she said, shaking her hand. “I’m okay.” She must’ve scraped it during her fall. 

 

“No!” Reid got up and ran. He reached for the doorknob, but he couldn’t get it. He pulled up his cot, so he could step on it and push the door open. “Follow me!” He grabbed her hand and dragged her outside, where his team was standing. He pushed past them. 

 

Reid’s hand was too small to wrap around her hand, so he grabbed on to her finger instead. He dragged her gently to his desk and had her sit down in the chair. He climbed up on the chair before she sat down so he could sit on the top. He pulled out the tiny first aid kit he kept in his desk. (Really, he kept it in there because more often than not, JJ’s knuckles would start bleeding from her early morning boxing workouts.) 

 

The others watched as a dazed Garcia sat in the chair. She held up her bleeding finger. “Reid?” JJ asked curiously from her desk. 

 

“Not now,” he huffed. The tears on his face stopped flowing, but his eyes were still puffy. “I have a patient.” 

 

He poured some water into a rag and dabbed her hand. After drying it, he put a band-aid on it. “There!” he announced. “All better.” 

 

“Thank you,” she said, kissing his forehead. “You’re such a good nurse!” 

 

She went to pick him up, and he slapped her on the shoulder. “Rest your finger,” he scolded. 

 

“Reid, her job relies on her fingers,” Morgan sighed. 

 

“Well, good thing I have ten fingers,” Garcia said, making Reid smile. “I can still type fast with one hand, you know. Don’t underestimate me.” 

 

“Oh, I would never count on it, Baby Girl,” Morgan shot back. 

 

“Are you feeling better?” Reid asked suddenly. 

 

“Of course I am,” Garcia grinned, nuzzling Reid. “After all, I had my little helper stitch me up.”

 

Hotch, unamused, tapped his foot impatiently. “This could’ve gone so much worse,” he griped, pinching his nose. “How much did you drink?”

 

Garcia glared. “How much melatonin did you put into it?” she retorted, adding a polite “Sir” to the end of her snarl. “Way too much.” 

 

Rossi just shrugged. “It takes a lot to knock him out,” he said simply. “Speaking of which, now that you’re awake, let’s get you to finish your lunch. Sound good?” 

 

“No!” Reid spat, clinging to Garcia. “I’m not leaving her!” 

 

Hotch glared. “She has to get back to work, Reid,” he reasoned, but he wasn’t having it. 

 

“I’m okay,” Garcia promised. “I really do need to get back to work, though. I’ll see you in a bit.” His grip tightened on her. 

 

“No!” he cried again. With a sigh, Hotch grabbed the collar of his shirt. He pried the kid off of her, and he screamed in response. “Hotch! You can’t treat me like this!” 

 

“Like what?” Hotch asked, pulling him close. He dismissed the others and headed towards his office. 

 

“Like a, a, a, child! I’m not a baby,” he cried, kicking him. Hotch closed the door to his office behind them. 

 

“Oh, really,” he mused. “Could’ve had me fooled.” 

 

Hotch sat down on the couch with him in his lap. Not trusting to set him down, he kept a tight grip on him. He turned around and bit Hotch’s finger, to which he let go. Reid charged, trying to reach the doorknob. He had barely twisted it when Reid caught him. 

 

However, the door had already opened. “Son of a bitch!” he cursed loudly, drawing the attention of a nearby agent. She, shocked, dropped her file. 

 

“Oh my,” she paused, aghast. Reid chased out of the room, but he really hadn’t gotten far. Hotch caught him. “What terrible language! If that was my kid, he’d be getting soap in the mouth.” 

 

“Thank you, Agent Karen,” he said sarcastically, pulling him into the room. “Sorry for the inconvenience.” He shut the door. 

 

“H-Hotch?” Reid stammered, knowing he was in trouble. 

 

“I was wrong about you,” Hotch says, pulling him into the corner of his office. “Sit here. No talking.” 

 

Reid wanted to ask what he had been wrong about, but he didn’t want to get into anymore trouble. He sat still for a few moments, until realizing Hotch was planning to keep him in time-out for a long time. Eventually, he started to re-cite his favorite books out of boredom, which Hotch took notice of. “Uh-huh,” he scolded. “You’re defeating the point of the punishment.”

 

“What were you wrong about?” Reid asked, ignoring him. 

 

Hotch humored him. “I figured since you’re so mature, you never misbehaved. Clearly, I was wrong.” 

 

Offended, Reid sputtered. “I behave!”

 

“Hmm,” he mused, shaking his head. “No, you don’t. I don’t know how to punish someone like you. Surely, a grounding wouldn’t do…” 

 

There was a knock on the door suddenly. Reid ran to it. Rossi opened the door to find Reid hugging his leg. “Rossi!” he begged. 

 

Rossi, unsympathetic, pried the boy off of him. “I heard the commotion,” he stated dryly, making Reid gulp. “That was a very naughty thing of you to do.” 

 

Feeling betrayed, Reid stuck his tongue out. “Fuck off,” he growled, making Rossi wince. 

 

“Oh, you have a habit of making things worse for you, don’t you?” Rossi hummed. 

 

Suddenly, Hotch snapped his fingers. “I got it,” he announced. “No sweets for a week!” 

 

Reid’s eyes widened. “Hotch,” he said. “You can’t be serious.” Hotch was completely serious. “Rossi! Please, don’t let him do this! I’ll die!” 

 

Rossi frowned. “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before acting up.” 

 

“I’m a grown man, and I refuse to be babied,” Reid argued. Somewhere along, Reid’s eyes had started to leak again. “I want coffee!” 

 

This had been coming for a while now… They should’ve expected it sooner. Reid’s meltdown was a long time coming. 

 

In the midst of his tantrum, Reid kicked Hotch in the shin. “Okay, that’s enough,” Rossi interjected. He grabbed ahold of Reid. 

 

Reid looked up to him, hopeful. “Are you going to take me to my apartment?” Reid asked, happy to live alone again. 

 

Rossi gave a dry laugh. “Nah,” he answered simply. “We’re going on a trip.” 

 

Rossi left to go retrieve the stroller. Reid shot Hotch one last look, who only shrugged in response. “Bye, Reid,” Hotch waved, and Reid gulped as Rossi snatched him off the ground. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so like,,, i kinda ended last chapter w a cliff hanger,,,, that didn't go anywhere lol,,,,,,, (((but it will be brought up again, and be a present issue so thats not the end of that))) ((also i know the end of this chapter sounds like rossi is going to like murder him but dont worry bout it lol)))
> 
> thank u all for ur support!!!! i hope everyone has a lovely july 4th! thank u! \
> 
> n as always, leave a comment or kudos if u enjoyed! 
> 
> xoxo, author ((i mean obviously its me, author, who wrote that note, but i didn't wanna use my cringe username or my real name so ok I'm gonna stop writing this really long note and actually write next chapter okay bYE


	7. oats in the water

They knew they were going to have to resort to the daycare center sooner or later. 

 

It wasn’t to punish Reid. However Reid acting up and then kicking Hotch was the final push for Rossi to drop him off. They had to, since Reid kept throwing hissy fits inside the office, which wasn’t really his fault. He’s in a child’s body, after all. 

 

“I have work back at the office,” Reid whined as Rossi walks him in. “Lots of work to do! I’m a busy man, Rossi!” 

 

“You need a break, kid,” Rossi sighed, easing up on him. “Can you handle being by yourself for a bit?” 

 

“Of course!” Reid scoffed, looking offended. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” 

 

“Then why are you so eager to get back to work?” Rossi teased, knowing well he was kidding under his skin. 

 

Reid let out a huff. “I’m not.” 

 

“Right,” Rossi said, walking up to the desk. “Hi, I called earlier about a Spencer Reid.” 

 

The receptionist smiled back before scrolling through her computer. “Oh, yes, right,” she mumbled, putting down the candy bar she’d been chewing. “Down the hall, second door on the right.” She pointed, and they wandered off. 

 

Rossi opened the door to a classroom full of much smaller kids. There was one kid who looked around Reid’s age, but the others were a lot younger. The caretaker met them at the door. “Oh, this must be Spencer,” she said, smiling. “Hi, Spencer.” He waved, hiding behind Rossi. “No need to be shy.” 

 

“I’m not,” he hissed, walking through the door. He snatched his bag from Rossi and scampered off. “Bye, bye, Dad.” 

 

Rossi watched as Spencer took himself and his bag to a far corner. The teacher must’ve noticed his staring. “He’ll do fine, Mr. Rossi,” she smiled gently. “There won’t be much rough housing in this classroom, and I keep a close eye out on the playground.” 

 

“Thank you,” he said, stealing one last glance before leaving. 

 

Reid had been eavesdropping the whole time. As soon as he heard Rossi’s escaping footsteps, he ran to the window to watch him go. He had wanted to be alone so bad, but now his chest was tightening and he felt like crying. 

 

He watched Rossi leave. When he couldn’t see him anymore, his eyes started to water. He slapped his cheek lightly. “Spencer, you’re okay,” the caretaker said, approaching gently. “He’ll be back soon, I promise.” 

 

“I know,” he spat, looking away from the window. She pulled a tissue out of his pocket and dabbed at his wet eyes. He moved away from her. 

 

“Hey, how about you go talk to some of the other kids?” the teacher suggested. She gave him a small push, and he found himself in the presence of a teenage boy, a helper in the classroom. 

 

“Wanna color with me?” the boy asked, and Reid squinted. 

 

“Isn’t it boring?” Reid asked, peering at his art. “You’re not a kid.” 

 

_ Neither am I,  _ Reid thought bitterly.

 

The boy smiled. “You can’t ever be too old to draw.” 

 

He scrunched his nose. “True, but that’s not drawing. That’s a coloring book.” 

 

He shrugged. “So you don’t like coloring. How about something else?” Reid shook his head. “Come on. Anything’s better than nothing.” 

 

“Nothing is good,” Reid counters, going to his corner. He sat alone for a few minutes before the caretaker announced it was time to go outside. 

 

As soon as the announcement was made, the kids raced to go out. They lined up, and the door opened, unleashing hell. Reid, however, didn’t run out. He managed his way out the door before he fell to the ground and scooched up against the wall. 

 

The teenage helper, whose nametag read ‘Sam,’ frowned. “Let’s go play, Spencer,” he said. 

 

“I don’t like tag,” Spencer says, remembering the zoo. 

 

“We don’t have to play tag,” he shrugged. “You like the swings?” Sam lead him over to the swingset, and Spencer hesitantly climbed on top of the seat. Sam pushed him, and he couldn’t tell if he was having fun or not. The kid had a white-knuckle grip on the chains and his feet were kicking, but he was silent. “You having fun, kid?” Suddenly, the grip let go, and Spencer started to tumble. Sam was there to pick him up. 

 

“Nice catch,” the caretaker complimented. 

 

“He conked out,” Sam sighed. “I’m going to go lay him down.” Sam set him down on the cot inside. He sat in a chair next to the small bed, waiting for the others to come inside. 

 

Reid slept soundly for a few minutes before he started screaming. “No, no, no, don’t leave,” he cried, thriving around. His arms were reached up in the air. “I’m sorry! I’ll be better!”

 

Sam shook him gently. “Hey, you’re okay,” he whispered. 

 

Reid shot up in the cot suddenly. His breath hitched, and his eyes were blown wide. He slapped Sam hard. “Don’t!” he hissed, scrambling to get away from him. 

 

“I’m sorry, I won’t touch you,” Sam promised, holding up his hands. “You were having a really bad dream there, weren’t you? You get dreams like that often?”

 

“No,” Spencer lied. Done with this conversation, he started to explore the classroom. Now that it was empty, Spencer felt more at ease. 

 

There was a bookcase full of books that didn’t peak his interest. None of the dolls seemed interesting to him, but he stopped at the lego set. With wide eyes, he scooped through the bucket. 

 

“I heard yelling.” The door creaks open to reveal the teacher whispering to Sam. “Everything okay?” 

 

“Bad dream,” Sam replied. “If one of the other kids so much as touch him…”

 

“His father had his doubts, but Spencer seemed so independent. I wasn’t even worried.” The teacher huffed. “The kids are already lining up. Is he okay?” 

 

Spencer dropped a handful of legos, pretending not to be eavesdropping. “Yeah, I think the dream just shook him up.” 

 

The second the other kids came in, Spencer abandoned the legos and took refuge in a corner of the room. 

 

He didn’t hate Sam. He was okay, after all. Spencer even forgave him for shaking him earlier. Now, though, he was glaring holes into the back of Sam’s head because he stopped paying attention to him. He must’ve noticed this because Sam headed towards. “So I know you don’t like coloring, but how about drawing a picture?” 

 

Too high and mighty to resort to that, he puffed out his chest. “No,” he said, still mad. 

 

Sam shrugged and left him alone. He visibly deflated. 

 

Having enough of this, Reid trudged up to the table and climbed on a chair. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Change your mind?” 

 

“Give me a paper, please,” Reid demanded. He took a marker and started to think about what he was going to draw. A light bulb went off in his head. “I’m going to need a lot more.” 

 

Hours passed. Most of the kids by then were gone. Only two of them remained, Reid included. The other was a boy about his age. He was reading a comic book. “Hi,” he greeted, climbing into the seat next to him. “What’re you drawing?” 

 

“A letter,” Reid answered curtly. 

 

“Oh! I know those!” he chirped. “A, B, C…” he broke off into song, missing quite a few letters. Reid cringed and tried to ignore the incorrect lyrics. Finally, the door creaked open. Reid’s ears instantly perked up, not only from excitement to escape the dreaded singing but also from how deprived he felt of attention. 

 

He was filled with more dread when he saw it wasn’t Rossi at the door. The boy ran to his mom. “Mommy!” he chirped, wrapping her in a hug. “I missed you.” 

 

“Then, there was one,” Sam said, sinking into the seat. “Hi, Spencer. Whoa, are you… writing?” 

 

Spencer covered his papers with his hands. “No! Don’t read,” he cried, and Sam looked away. “Has my father called?” 

 

Sam bit his lip. “He’s running a bit late,” he replied, and Spencer tried to hide his disappointment. “Sorry, bud.” 

 

“It’s fine,” he spat. Sam got the feeling he wanted to be left alone, so he left him be. That was the opposite of what he wanted, not that he was going to say anything. 

 

Reid sat for another half hour. He had to distract himself with the coloring pages, so he wouldn’t cry. If he focused on the tight feeling in his chest, he would definitely cry. 

 

Finally, the door opened. Reid had to use all his willpower not to get up and run. He pretended not to hear it open, so he would seem just fine. 

 

“Thank you so much,” Rossi said. “Was he okay today?” 

 

“He did just fine,” the teacher said. “Aside from a bad dream.” 

 

Rossi visibly winced. “Uh, I won’t be this late every day,” he said. 

 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep!” the teacher warned, wagging a finger. “It’s fine, though. We’ve had parents kept us here much later.” 

 

“Well, as long as I don’t fall asleep behind the wheel…” 

 

“Mr. Rossi!” the teacher hissed. Spencer perked up at this. He had to twist his legs together to keep from charging up to him.

 

“I got coffee,” he said. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t endanger Spencer… I’m glad he’s doing fine here, though. Having him at the office is exhausting, no offense to the little guy. Not his fault he gets restless…” 

 

_ What’s that supposed to mean, Rossi? “Having him at the office is exhausting”? We’re coworkers,  _ Reid thought.  _ No, it’s just cause I’m a kid. That makes sense. Rossi doesn’t hate me. Rossi doesn’t hate me.  _

 

“Spencer! Come on, son,” Rossi called suddenly. Reid raised his head, gathered his papers, and trudged up to Rossi. 

 

As much as it killed him, he had to keep up the act. “Already?” he sighed. He was too good at this. Countless times, he’d had to fool an UNSUB. It was easy. Kind of. It’s easy to lie, but it’s not as easy when your heart is screaming at you to burst into tears. 

 

Rossi, surprised, smiled. “You have fun today, kid?” 

 

“Yeah,” he lied. 

 

Rossi led him to the car. After safely buckling him into his carseat, they started the drive home. 

 

Rossi’s coffee kept him awake until they got home. However, the second Rossi sat on the couch, he collapsed into a deep sleep. 

 

Reid picked up his baby blanket and covered Rossi’s shoulders with it. 

 

His stomach started to growl, then, and he was reminded that he hasn’t eaten since lunch time. Now, it’s almost one a.m, and he still hasn’t eaten. He stumbled in the kitchen, trying to reach food in the pantry. After knocking a bunch of inedibles to the floor, he gave up. 

 

He had begun to clean up his mess when the phone started to ring Reid hurriedly dropped the box of cereal and ran to the phone. He had to use a chair to climb up on the counter and answer it. “You almost woke up Rossi!” 

 

“And why aren’t you asleep?” Hotch’s unamused voice filtered through the receiver. 

 

“We just got home,” he huffed. “I’m not tired.” His stomach chose that moment to growl, and he prayed Hotch didn’t hear it. “Get some rest, Hotch.” 

 

“I should be saying the same to you.” 

 

“You’re calling from the office,” Reid noted. “I’ll go to bed if you go home.” Reid resumed picking up the dropped items. He picks out a box of animal crackers for his dinner. He takes the home phone with him up to his bedroom. 

 

“How was the daycare today?” Hotch asked. 

 

Reid choked on his cracker. “F-Fine,” he coughed, gagging it up. 

 

“You sound sad,” Hotch noted. 

 

“I choked on a cracker.” 

 

“Mhm, no, that’s not it. How many kids are in that class?” 

 

“Fifteen.”

 

“Teachers?”

 

“Two.” 

 

“Ah,” Hotch said, as if that made perfect sense. “It’s only temporary. Hang in there, Reid.” 

 

“What?” he hissed. “It’s fine! I didn’t get into any trouble with the others.”

 

“Not that,” Hotch said. He made a scoffing sound and didn’t elaborate, which annoyed Reid to a great extent. “Did you make any friends?” Reid was silent. “Reid?” Hotch sighed. “I know it’s tough, but try and have some fun while there.”

 

“I told you it was fine! I’m not a baby who needs constant attention!” 

 

Before Reid knew it, tears were streaming down his face. This was bad. “I know you’re not a baby, but you’re in a child’s body. It must be hard to be alone for so long.” 

 

“Not for me,” Reid lied, trying to hide a sniffle. “Go home, Hotch.” 

 

“Go to bed, Reid.” The line went dead. 

 

“Hotch?” 

 

No one answered. 

 

“I miss you.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for all ur support!


	8. i'm a man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i hate oc's, but sometimes plot's gotta happen

It’s been a long day for David Rossi. 

 

Somehow he felt more exhausted than before he went to bed. Speaking of which, when did he fall asleep? He woke up on the couch with nothing but a baby blanket to keep him warm. 

 

“Oh, you’re awake,” Spencer said. Rossi grabbed his face. 

 

“Oh, shit,” he sighed. “I didn’t feed you last night. Where’d you sleep? Did you sleep?” 

 

“Yeah, I ate something,” Spencer said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “You’re going to be late.” 

 

Rossi looked at his watch before scrambling to get ready. 

 

After dropping Spencer off at the daycare center, he headed towards work for the longest day ever. 

 

Somehow, today was worse than yesterday. Spencer felt better after sobbing his eyes out last night, but it didn’t make the tight feeling go away. At least, he wasn’t on the verge of tears anymore. He doesn’t think he has anymore tears to cry. 

 

“I’m making this for my Mommy,” a boy, Dustin, in his class announced. He held up a picture of two stick figures holding hands. “What’re you making?” He covered his hands over his drawing, so the kid couldn’t see it. The boy huffed and snatched the paper out of his hands. He dropped it to the floor. “That’s scary!” 

 

Hearing the commotion, Sam sprinted over. This was the first time Spencer had really reacted with a kid. He picked up the picture to hand it back to Spencer, but he couldn’t let go of it once he saw what was on it. “Uh, Spencer? What’d you draw?” 

 

“Give it back!” he demanded. 

 

“I’m going to give this to your Daddy, okay, Spencer?” he said. 

 

Spencer sighed and buried his head into his palm. 

 

“Uh, ma’am, I need to call that boy Spencer’s father,” Sam whispered to the teacher. When she asked why, he showed her the picture. “That kid needs therapy.” 

 

Suddenly, a soccer ball came flying and hit Sam square in the face. He set the phone down. He looked to Spencer, who looked thoroughly surprised that he hit his target. “You can’t call him,” Spencer said. “He’s at work.” 

 

“Can I show it to him later?” Sam compromised, and Spencer shrugged. He started to head towards the coloring table when Sam bit his lip. “Why don’t you play with something else, Spencer?” 

 

The rest of the day went uneventful. Rossi picked him up earlier this time. Yet, he was still one of the last kids to go. “Hey, kiddo,” Rossi greeted. “You ready to go out to eat with Uncle Morgan and Aunt Garcia?” 

 

He smiled as soon as he saw the two behind him. Garcia engulfed him in a tight hug, which was heaven to Spencer. “I missed you,” Garcia cooed. 

 

Spencer had to slap himself. He almost said it back, but then he remembered the act he was supposed to keep up. 

 

They were about to leave when Sam stopped them. “Uh, wait,” he said awkwardly. “Mr. Rossi, can I talk to you in private?” Spencer was too busy with Garcia and Morgan to notice Sam and Rossi. They stepped aside so they could talk. “Spencer drew this today.” He handed the artwork over. 

 

Rossi could only describe it in two words. Crime scene. “Oh,” he said. “Oh.” 

 

“Yeah. Oh,” Sam agreed. 

 

“What’s happening?” Garcia asked curiously. She saw the paper. “Oh. That’s ‘oh’ worthy.” 

 

“My picture!” Reid chirped. Sensing the awkward air around them, Reid pretended to whine. “I’m hungry.” 

 

They left then, quick to escape from the others so they could talk in private. 

 

They had barely made it to the car when their phones dinged with a text. They all sighed in unison, all knowing very well what that meant. 

 

They had a case. 

 

“We’re not done talking about this,” Rossi said, unnerved about the gorey picture he drew. 

 

Still, Reid couldn’t complain as they drove back to headquarters. 

 

After the debriefing, Reid hurried to go get his go-bag. He wouldn’t have stopped if it wasn’t for Hotch’s tight grip. “Where are you off to in a hurry?”

 

“My bag’s in my locker,” Reid replied, twisting out of his grip. 

 

Hotch frowned. “Reid, you can’t go with us on a case. You’re three.” 

 

Reid wanted to stomp his foot, but he knew if he did, he’d be instantly dismissed. “I’ll behave,” he promised. “Please, I want to go.” 

 

“We’re not taking him with us?” Emily asked. “We’re going to leave him here?” 

 

“I can stay with Garcia!” Reid said, and Garcia frowned. “Right?”

 

“I’m sorry, baby boy, but a case might not be the best thing for you right now,” Garcia apologized, making Reid’s heartbreak. 

 

“...Why?” he asked, eyes watering. 

 

“The nightmares, honey,” Garcia whispered as gently as she could. “They’re not good for you.” 

 

Reid fundled with the hem of his shirt. “That’s got nothing to do with my age! I can help!” 

 

Hotch stepped in. “It’s affecting your sleep. You’re going to take a leave until we get you changed back. It’s for your own good.” 

 

Rossi held up the pictures he had drawn that day. “You’re so little right now… The things these cases are doing to your little head,” JJ sighed, looking at the drawing. “You’re hurting.” 

 

Reid couldn’t hold himself back. He stomped his foot. “I’m not hurting!” 

 

“Yes, you are,” Rossi calmly shot back. “You wake up screaming and crying almost every night.” 

 

“I always do!” 

 

Silence falls upon them. 

 

Reid’s hands fly up to cover his mouth, but it was too late. “Spence…” JJ started, but Reid couldn’t look at her. 

 

“It’s the same as when I’m older,” he said, breathless. His fist clenched. “I can handle it.” 

 

“No, you can’t, and that’s okay,” Hotch said. 

 

“I want to go.” 

 

“I know you do, kid, but it’s best you take a break,” Morgan reasoned. He turned to Hotch. “We need to go.” 

 

“This is a time-sensitive case, Reid,” Hotch informed. “We’ve got to go, but we’re going to talk once we get back.” 

 

The others scrambled to go get ready, leaving Reid alone with Garcia. “Come on,” she urged, and he tilted his head. She walked down the hallway before stopping at a desk. “Thanks, Anderson, for agreeing to take him.” 

 

No. 

 

Hell no. 

 

Anderson snorts. “Easy enough.” 

 

As soon as he was handed off to him, he wanted to die. 

 

This case was time-sensitive. It was highly likely Garcia would be spending more than a couple nights at her office. That’s fine for her, as she’s used to that. 

 

Anderson, who was still having a hard time believing this, brought him to say goodbye before everyone had to go. 

 

“We’ll be back before you know it,” JJ promised, and he had a hard time believing her. 

 

Rossi was the last to board the jet. He grabbed on his leg. “Don’t worry, Reid,” he said, even going as far as chuckling lightly. “Sam won’t leave you alone, so you don’t have to be scared.” 

 

For a team of profilers, they were all dense. 

 

However, a girl was missing, and four are dead. It wasn’t his place to pitch a fit and cry, even though that’s what he felt like doing. 

 

Merle arrived, then, with his bag over his shoulder. He smirked at the pitiful looking Reid. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a long case.” The jet’s door closed behind him. 

 

Reid felt like crying, but he wasn’t about to do that in front of Anderson. “Alright, Dr. Reid, you ready to go?” 

 

Back to Hell. 

 

It’s safe to say he really hated this place. 

 

Garcia had done a lot of research to find this certain daycare. It’s difficult to find a daycare that stays open late as this one does. It’s also difficult to find one that can accommodate his needs. 

 

“You’re not Mr. Rossi,” Sam said when he opened the door. 

 

The caretaker, Mrs. Maria, ran to the rescue. “Oh, we got an email about this,” she waved. “Spencer’s dad’s going to be out for a bit, so Spencer’s gonna have fun with us. Right, Spencey?” 

 

Spencer wasn’t too fond of her, but he had to play along. He really wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few days here. He looked back, hoping to find some refuge, but it wasn’t Rossi. Anderson was the only one, and he found no comfort in him. 

 

Reid was fine, despite being on the verge of tears. He sat on his beanbag and stared at the wall. The classroom was deathly quiet, as Reid was the only one here. “We’re going to move you now,” Sam said. He took care of carrying all his stuff. 

 

The daycare was deadly quiet. It was really late into the night (or early in the morning), so most of the kids were at home. And those that were stuck here were asleep. 

 

Eventually, there’s not a lot of kids left, so they just group them all in one room. 

 

Mrs. Maria leaves, leaving Spencer alone with Sam, another teacher, and about five other sleeping kids. 

 

“Let’s get you to bed, huh?” Sam suggested, pulling out a mat. 

 

“Not tired,” Spencer says, knowing he won’t be able to sleep without his family. 

 

“I’ll be right there with you,” Sam promised, but Spencer didn’t budge. 

 

“You’re tired,” Spencer said, eyeballing the bags on his face. He kinda looked like Hotch in a way. Both worked themselves too hard, too late. Spencer’d know a thing about that. They all do. 

 

“I’ll leave once you learn at least two people’s names here,” Sam compromised. 

 

“Marcy and Perry,” he said right off the back. “Children have their names written on all their belongings. Go home now, Sam.” 

 

Sam did leave, then, although hesitantly. 

 

Spencer was left in absolute silence. Some of the kids stirred in their sleep, but most were silent. The teacher waddled over to him. “Hey, Spencer, would you like to try and sleep?” 

 

“I want to draw,” he pouted, ignoring her. “I’ll be quiet.” 

 

She let it go. She sat on her chair in the corner, scrolling through her iPhone. Spencer tried to be as still as he could while drawing over the papers. 

 

Eventually, one of the kids woke up crying. The teacher changed her diaper, even fed her, but she wouldn’t go back to sleep. 

 

She found Spencer. Spencer recognized her as Marcy; her name was even embroidered on the blanket wrapped around her. She was about the same age as him, and kids Spencer’s age didn’t talk much. 

 

She was chewing on a carrot when Spencer’s stomach grumbled. She passed him one of the carrots she had slobbered on. “Oh, it’s okay,” he said, stopping. It’d be impossible to reason with her. If he refused the carrot, she’d surely cry. He tricked her, making it look like he ate it. It seemed to fool her because she smiled and started to climb on the table. 

 

Scared she was going to rip his art, he moved it away from her. She stared at it, struggling to read what was on it. Of course, she couldn’t read. “It’s a letter,” he whispered, thinking of the sleeping children in the room. 

 

She got up suddenly, picked up a book on the far side of the room, and handed it to Spencer. His eyebrows furrowed together. “Want me to read it to you?” 

 

She didn’t reply, but as soon as he started reading, she grew more interested. 

 

By the time morning had came, they’d gotten through quite a few books. Marcy had fallen on top of Spencer sometime in the night, and they’d settled on top of each other. 

 

“Hi, hello!” Penelope Garcia wandered into the classroom, looking positively exhausted. “I’m here to check on a Spencer Reid.”

 

The teacher smiled and pointed at the bundle by the table. Marcy and Spencer were cuddling. She was drooling on him, and Garcia cringed at how he’d react. She quickly took a napkin and started to dab it away. 

 

He stirred, and so did Marcy. “Huh… Garcia!” he cheered, reaching up for her. 

 

“Hi, sweetheart,” she cooed. “I don’t have long, but I missed you so much!” 

 

There were a lot of things going on in his head at the moment. A: “Why is there so much drool on me?” B: “This is baby jail, and Anderson’s disgusting sweaty hands touched my lunch.” C: “I missed you.” 

 

Of all these things, C was the only one that mattered. 

 

He couldn’t say that, though. That’d arrive suspicion. “This place is so much better than the office!” 

 

“I see,” Garcia said, smiling. “I also see you’ve made some lady friends.” Her face fell. “Oh. You’re not really three. That’s gross. I’m feeling the regret now. I really gotta go, Reid.” 

 

“No!” he said, then shaking it off. “I mean… What’s the rush? You just got here.” 

 

“Kevin’s offered to take my spot so I could pay you a visit… I didn’t exactly get the authorization, though, so I could get in big trouble,” she said in a rush. Reid’s jaw dropped open. 

 

“Garcia!” he hissed, but he couldn’t help but smile. 

 

Her phone started to ring, and she frowned. “Oops.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Gotta go, baby boy! Make good decisions… Oh. Oh, ew, not again, Garcia!” She continued to berate herself, even though she was out the door. 

 

As soon as she left, the emptiness took hold of him again. 

 

It reminded him of a sunny day where the sun went out to hide for a bit behind the clouds. Garcia’s bright, metaphorically and physically. Clad in yellow and indestructible optimism, she was bright. 

 

But now she was gone and that hurt like hell. 

 

Marcy was awake now. She grabbed at Reid’s face, which made him cringe. “Marcy,” he begged, shifting away from her touch. 

 

“Oh, Spencer, let’s try and get you to sit down for a nap,” the teacher suggested. 

 

“It’s no use,” Sam said suddenly, walking in to relieve her shift. “Hey, Spencer, let’s get back to class.” He looked to Marcy. “You made a friend? That’s great, Spencer!” 

 

“She hasn’t been assigned a class yet, so go ahead and take her,” the teacher said, distracted with her phone. “I’m going home.” 

 

Sam frowned, knowing she was exhausted. “Come on, guys,” Sam said, and the two followed him into the classroom where Mrs. Maria and a bunch of the other kids were playing. 

 

Marcy helped the dread a little bit, but nothing could fill in the space of his family. 

 

“Let’s do a craft!” the teacher announced. 

 

All the kids were forced to the table, but Spencer was the only one who really didn’t want to go. The older kids had no problem with the bracelets, but Marcy’s shaky toddler hands had a great deal of difficult making it. Spencer helped her out, but he didn’t make his own. 

 

“Mommy,” Marcy said suddenly, proudly holding it out in front of her. 

 

“Oh, I’m making mine for my Mommy too!” one of the kids said, holding his up. 

 

“Can I go read now?” Spencer whined. 

 

Sam put his hands on his hip. “No, not until you make one for your mom or dad,” he insisted. 

 

“I don’t have a dad.” 

 

Some of the kids put down their bracelets to look. The younger ones didn’t care. “What about a mom?” Sam asked, confused. 

 

Spencer bit his lip. “She doesn’t know about me,” he said, half explaining. He couldn’t go to her, not when he’s like this. 

 

“Let’s make one for Mr. Rossi, then,” Sam compromised. 

 

By then, the other kids were finishing up and were ready to go outside. However, Spencer, suddenly determined, couldn’t stop making bracelets. Not until he had made one for every team member of his, except for Merle. That bitch. 

 

Being distracted by the bracelets had worked for a while, but as soon as he was done, he felt lost. 

 

He bundled up the bracelets. Each had one of his family member’s names spelled out in letter blocks. He carefully put them inside of his bag, so he wouldn’t lose them. He fished out his stuffed lion, the one Hotch had bought for him. Next, he fished out the bunny Garcia gave him. He hugged them close. 

 

Spencer’s been feeling a lot of emotions. Sad, mostly, but he finally could name the one deep down in his chest. It took a thunderstorm for him to finally realize what it was. 

 

Spencer Reid was scared of the dark. 

 

The lights went out in the room, and the kids swarmed to the teachers. Spencer, who wasn’t fond of physical contact from strangers, kept on the other side of the room with his stuffed animals held in a death grip. 

 

Spencer Reid was scared.

 

Thunder struck loudly, and many of the kids cried out. 

 

He tried his best to stay quiet, but it was hard to do with the loud booms. Eventually, he managed to curl himself into a ball and cover his ears until the storm had stopped. 

 

By the time the power had come back on, Reid was shaking inside of his ball. 

 

“Spencer? Are you okay?” Sam asked, but he didn’t reply. “Oh, oh. He’s having some kind of attack.” 

 

There wasn’t much they could do. Spencer was hyperventilating. “Spencer, you’re okay. You’re okay,” he consoled, but he wasn’t Morgan. Wasn’t Garcia. Wasn’t JJ, or Emily, or Rossi, or… He wasn’t Hotch. “I’m going to call Mr. Rossi.” 

 

“No!” Spencer finally spoke. “You… You can’t. He’s on a case.” 

 

It killed him to speak. 

 

He was so tired of the lies. 

 

He was so tired of it all. 

 

He calmed down after a while. 

 

He didn’t let them call Rossi. 

 

But Spencer was tired. He was so, so tired. 

 

He could do this. He could wait for them to get home. 

 

Reid got up, then, and walked to the door. He sat down in front of it. 

 

He wouldn’t move. He wouldn’t speak. Wouldn’t eat, sleep, or play. He sat, staring at the door. It’d open many times from a parent, but it was never Rossi. 

 

He kept this up for half of the day before he broke down crying again. 

 

This time, Sam had to call.

 

Thankfully, the case had been closed anyways. They had only been hanging around for a few loose ends, but the flight back was a quick one. 

 

The entire team went to pick him up. 

 

It was quite a sight. This kid had been here for a while, and they’ve only seen Rossi pick him up, who they were confused about. Reid called him “dad,” but he didn’t consider him his father. His family tree was quite weird, they all knew that. But they didn’t expect a full team of FBI agents to show up to the tiny classroom. 

 

Reid was sitting in front of the door waiting. 

 

Hotch was the first one in. He instantly engulfed Reid in a hug. 

 

Reid, who had promised himself he’d stay strong, couldn’t help but sob. “It’s okay,” Hotch said, grabbing him tight. “I’m never going to leave you again.” 

 

Reid cried. He couldn’t keep up the lies anymore, but he was still trying. “I… I was fine,” he said, but he was sobbing. “Really, I was okay.” 

 

“I know it was hard,” Hotch said, rubbing circles into his back. “You don’t need to lie anymore. It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here. We’re all here.” 

 

Reid sniffled against his back. “I missed you.” 

 

Hotch actually laughed. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I missed you too.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spencer's a crybaby but he's also three years old with a sob story so
> 
>  
> 
> thank u all! pls comment or kudos if u enjoyed!!! ily all have a nice day pls


	9. how to save a life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unlikely heroes??? when a toddler is more of a bamf than u will ever be

As far as promises go, no one had the intention of leaving Spencer alone. 

 

There was no doubt they were all exhausted. Time-sensitive kidnapping cases keep them up through the 24 hour mark, and even Reid hasn’t been sleeping well without his family close. If he managed to fall asleep, it wouldn’t be for long. 

 

Hotch couldn’t seem to let go of him. Eventually, though, the others were demanding to get their own fair share of Reid, so he had to be passed along. Lastly, he ended up with Emily, who didn’t look that comfortable holding a baby. “Hi,” she said, smiling and awkwardly holding him. 

 

“You don’t have to hold me,” he said with a smile. She let out a sigh of relief and set him down. “Oh! That reminds me…!” He scrambled to get his bag, and he fished out the bracelets he made. He started to hold them out, but then he frowned. “They’re stupid, I know... “ 

 

“Nah,” Morgan said, slipping it on. “Nonsense.” He showed off his arm. “How’s it look on me?” 

 

Finally, they had started to leave the dreaded place. As soon as he neared the door, Marcy ran at him. 

 

“Don’t,” she cried, and Reid was surprised at hearing her speak. 

 

“Bye, Marcy,” Reid said, and she began to sob. Reid started to tear up too, but he wasn’t sure why. “I’ll miss you.” He gave her a hug, despite the drool and her snotty nose. 

 

“Come on, Reid, let’s go eat,” Rossi said, holding out his hand. He bid a final farewell to Marcy and Sam before leaving. “Let’s go get you changed first, hmm?” 

 

“Don’t take too long,” Morgan sighed. “There’s a black hole in my stomach.” 

 

JJ and Hotch both promised to be quick to go pick up their own kids. 

 

“Uh, I’m taking a shower,” Emily informed, sticking a finger out and thumping Morgan’s nose. “You should do the same.” He raised an eyebrow suspiciously before shrugging. 

 

So half an hour later, a freshly showered BAU team stumbles into a buffet. It’s empty for that time of night, which they’re all thankful for since they’re a huge group. 

 

As soon as Spencer steps out, he’s exposed to the loud yelling of Henry. “Walter!” he screamed, running up. “Hi!” 

 

“Hi,” he greeted back. Jack walked up too, distracted by his DS. “Hey, Jack.” 

 

“Hey,” he said, without looking up. 

 

That conversation was over quickly. 

 

The adults went to fix their plates -- JJ helping Henry with his, but Jack was trying to do his own. He was eleven now, but he still had trouble with some things. Hotch waited patiently as his kid dropped the some beets in the olive container. He made a face before scurrying away. 

 

Reid tried to grab his own plate. He’d actually grabbed it, and he was about to plop a load of jello on it, when Morgan took it from him. “It’s okay, Morgan,” Reid said, biting his lip. “You’re hungrier than I am.” He eyed the line in front of him. “Please, go before me.” 

 

“I’m not going to put myself before a toddler,” Morgan cringed. 

 

“I got it,” Will said, smiling. Henry let go of his mother’s hand to send a betrayed look to his father. “You’re both starving. Please, let me.” 

 

He took the plate from Morgan and looked to Reid. “Now, what do we want?” 

 

Reid climbed on his tippy toes to try and look at the food. “Jello,” he demanded, before adding a small, “please.” Will dropped two spoonfuls and started to move on. “Nuh-uh! More jello!” 

 

Will eyed him suspiciously. “We can come back for more jello. You need sustenance.” Reid kicked his foot lightly, but he let it go. “Salad?” 

 

“Rabbit food,” Emily said, scooping marshmallows on her plate. “Yuck.” 

 

“Yeah,” Reid agreed. “Ice cream?” 

 

“Real food, Reid,” Will sighed. 

 

“Waffle,” he said. 

 

“Reid.” 

 

He threw his hands up dramatically. “Okay; okay. Macaroni and cheese, please,” he ordered. 

 

“Anything else?” Will asked. 

 

“Coffee,” he said, without a beat. “Coffee!” 

 

“Uh, are you allowed--” 

 

“No,” Hotch said sternly. “And you’re grounded from sweets, remember?” 

 

Reid looked down at his jello then shot puppy dog eyes to Hotch. “Please?” 

 

Hotch sighed. “Just what’s on your plate,” he compromised. 

 

Will set the kid’s plate down on the table next to Hotch and Will. As soon as he had settled down, Will left to go fix his own plate. A large mound of spaghetti stared at him, taunting him, as if it knew Reid wouldn’t be able to cut it. He twirls it with his fork, and he manages to swirl the entire mound in one forkful. 

 

“Here,” Hotch says, starting to cut slices in his spaghetti. Reid blushes but puts down his fork. He looks over to Jack, who had apparently put down his game and decided to glare holes into Reid’s head. He gulped and looked away. 

 

Will slid into the seat next to him. “What do you want to drink?” he asked, and when he did, Henry started to glare at him. 

 

“Uh, it’s okay,” he said, melting under the pressure. Before Will could object, he got up and ran to fix his own drink. 

 

Choosing one one of the adult glasses turned out to be too troublesome for the genius to handle. As soon as he had started to put ice on it, he lost his balance and it slipped. He fell back from the counter and the glass dropped to the floor. 

 

One of the workers sighed and left to get a trash can. Reid sighed and started to pick up the glass, wincing as it drew blood. He’d cleaned up most of the big pieces when he heard a yell. “Reid!” Hotch barked. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

 

“I’m sorry,” he apologizing, sniffing at the loud voice. “I’ll clean it up!” 

 

“No, Buddy,” Hotch said gently, grabbing his hand. “Let the grown ups clean it up.” He picked up Reid and balanced him on his hip. He sat him down on the chair so he could find some bandaids. 

 

“You’re not his son,” Jack mumbled, tearing apart his food. “Stop trying to steal him.” 

 

Reid didn’t mean to get angry. After all, he could totally understand what he was going through. His father was often away on cases, and he was rarely home. He could remember waiting for his dad to get home, and how agonizing it was to wait. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, and Jack just shrugged. 

 

He was a lot more calm than Henry, who seemed to be fuming. JJ was distracted in telling a story to Garcia and Morgan, so she was oblivious to the one-sided food fight. Reid tried to duck, but his reflexes weren’t fast enough. He cringed as a load of potatoes hit him square in the face. “My mom,” he growled possessively. 

 

And that was fine. Reid could leave the three parents alone no problem. He left to talk to Garcia and Morgan, but they were too engaged with JJ’s story. He wanted to waddle up to listen, but Henry was already loading up another fistful of potatoes. 

 

Lo and behold, the familiar devastated feeling of isolation started to build up in his chest. He tried to shake it off because everything was fine. His family is here, right in front of him. They’re here! Right in front of him! He should be happy. 

 

But he’s not. 

 

“Oh, boy,” Will said suddenly, laughing softly. He grabbed on to Reid’s arm to pull him close. He had a napkin in his hand, and he started to clean the potatoes off. He pulled away from him.

 

“Nuh,” he whined, pulling out of his strong grip. He slapped his hand, making Wills eyebrows furrow together.

 

“Spencer,” he warned. “I need to clean you off.” 

 

“Nuh,” he said again, scrambling away. He backed up into Hotch, who had just returned with the band-aids. 

 

Henry and Jack were glaring with a Hotch level of intensity, and Reid broke down. 

 

“Reid, it’ll only sting a bit,” Hotch said, noticing he was scared. “Hey, I’m right here. Calm down, it’s just a little antiseptic.” 

 

That wasn’t it. That wasn’t it at all. They weren’t understanding, and that made it that much more frustrating. 

 

“What’s wrong, Spence?” JJ asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

 

The first tear fell. “Y-You can’t,” he said, trying to get away from those three. He looked around anxiously, and his eyes fell across the first person in sight. “Em!” He charged towards Emily and grabbed her leg. “Emily!” 

 

“Whoa,” she said, caught off guard. She picked him off the ground, awkwardly holding him again. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t say anything. He grabbed his wounded hand and buried his face into her neck. “Does your finger hurt?” Reid wouldn’t cry from that, though. She knew that much. 

 

She looked to Garcia, who was giving her a worried look. Her face screamed “help me” since she wasn’t the best with kids. 

 

Hotch approached, and Reid stiffened. “No!” 

 

“Are you mad at Hotch? JJ?” Emily asked, patting his back in a way that really didn’t provide him much comfort at all. “Will?”

 

“Oh,” Rossi said suddenly. “Oh, kid.” He made his way towards the two. “Look at me.” Reid poked his face out to look him in the face. “You’re not replacing anyone.” 

 

“Rossi, I was right,” Reid said, knowing he’d understand. After the incident at the zoo, he knew he’d understand. Rossi was the one who figured out why he was avoiding Hotch. “He hates me. Both of them do.” 

 

“Both?” Rossi asked, surprised. 

 

“Henry and Jack,” he whispered, and it all made sense. 

 

Rossi turned to look at the two, guilty kids over at the table. Henry looked like he was about to cry, and Jack was fidgeting. 

 

“It’s not fair,” Jack said suddenly. “He’s not your son.” 

 

“Yeah!” Henry agreed, hitting the table. 

 

“I’m your son!” Jack yelled, breaking his usual manner. He’d been calm throughout this entire dinner, but he started screaming. “I’m the one you should fuss over, not him!” His face darkened the louder he yelled. His eyes were squeezed shut, as he couldn’t stand to look his own father in the eyes. “I get that he doesn’t have a dad, but he’s not your son. He’s not. I am!” His eyes opened, and when they did he saw a distraught looking Reid staring back at him. “Oh… Walt…” 

 

Jack booked it then. Hotch booked after him, but it was dark outside, and he was a lot smaller than him. 

 

Reid wrestled out of Emily’s grip and ran outside after Hotch. He spotted Jack in an instant. “Jack!” he screamed, running past Hotch. Jack was out in the middle of the parking lot, and a car was whirling around the corner. Still crying from earlier, Reid tackled him into the ground and moved him out of the way. “Jack…” 

 

Jack was the larger boy, but somehow Reid had managed to land under him to cushion his fall. Reid’s head rubbed against the pavement. 

 

“Jack!” Hotch screamed, desperation clear in his voice. “Are you okay?” He kneeled down and scooped him off the ground. 

 

“Walt,” Jack said, pointing. Reid was struggling to get on his feet. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Reid said, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to homewreck you two.” He ran back inside the buffet where his team was waiting. 

 

“Reid, you’re bleeding,” Garcia squeaked. Hotch came back in with a perfectly okay Jack, thanks to Reid. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

Reid looked up at his team. All of them, Henry and Jack included, were staring at him with such concern. He had just ran out in front of a car for a jealous kid, who wanted nothing more than his head on a stick a few minutes ago. “I’m hungry,” he confessed. 

 

Emily burst into a fit of laughter. “Come here, then,” Will said, motioning him. Henry started to make a face, and Will shot him a look. “Sharing is caring.” 

 

“Well, I don’t care,” Henry pouted. 

 

“Henry,” JJ warned, and he gulped. 

 

The team settled back into the table. Hotch was cleaning off his wound while Will scrubbed at the potatoes on his shirt. “You weren’t even eating potatoes?” Will said, confused. 

 

“Henry,” JJ said again, looking at his plate. “Henry ate mashed potatoes, and he’s got it all over his lil’ hands.” 

 

Henry shrugged. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding that apologetic. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Jack said, watching as his dad cleaned the blood off. “I got you more hurt.” 

 

Hotch finished bandaging his hand. “Where else?” he asked. 

 

“Hotch--” 

 

“Back of his neck,” Jack said, chewing on his lip. Sure enough, there was a nasty looking scrape covering the base of his neck. He started to dab at it, and he cringed. 

 

“Ouch,” Reid seethed, gritting his teeth. “It’s not your fault.” 

 

“It is!” Jack said. “Just cause I got jealous…” 

 

“I get jealous too,” Reid said, and Hotch looked up at him. “Yeah. I get crazy jealous. It’s okay to feel bad, as long as you don’t let it affect your actions.” 

 

“You’re really mature,” Jack said, eyes wide. “Like an old man.” 

 

Reid laughed. “Yeah,” he agreed. 

 

After he was done being bandaged, he scurried to his food. He cleared the plate pretty quickly, and he frowned at the empty jello. “Psst,” Will said, glancing down. Reid followed his gaze to a plate full of jello under the table. 

 

Reid happily scooped it on his own plate. He scarfed it down before Hotch could see. After he finished it, Morgan approached. “Hey, kid,” he greeted, making sure the coast was clear before scooping the jello off his plate onto his. 

 

Reid happily slurped it. Rossi approached next, and he ate it too. When Garcia started to scrape the mountain of jello, he had to refuse. 

 

He let out a large sigh, now being stuffed. “I know you’re grounded,” Hotch said suddenly, grimacing. “But you can have a little bit of jello.” 

 

“No thanks,” Reid said instantly. 

 

Hotch raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “I insist. I might’ve been to harsh on you.” He dumped some on his plate. “You deserve it.” He ruffled his hair and returned to speaking with Jack. 

 

Reid guiltily looked at the plate. “I don’t deserve it!” Reid cried instantly, latching on to Hotch’s arm. “I… I snuck some earlier.” 

 

“I know,” Hotch said simply. “But you deserve it. Go ahead.” 

 

Reid scrunched his nose. “Uh, I’ve had my fair share of jello,” he said.

 

He tapped his fingers against the table. “You’re officially ungrounded,” Hotch announced. “Take it easy, though. I don’t want you to throw up.” 

 

“Thank you!” Reid cheered, jumping out of his chair. He raced towards the buffet to get a new plate, to which he couldn’t reach. Morgan was there in an instant, though. 

 

He kneeled down to eye level. “What you want, kid?” 

 

He grabbed the sides of his face and pressed his forehead against his. “Brownies,” he whispered. 

 

“How many?” Morgan asked, carefully putting them on the plate. 

 

Reid hummed, tapping his foot. “Mhm, all of them!” 

 

“There’s a lot,” Morgan said. “Let’s start with three.” 

 

After that, Reid put one piece of chicken on his plate, just so Hotch wouldn’t be disappointed in him.

 

Reid got through the brownies pretty quickly. He had to go back a couple of times, and eventually there was only one left. He was preparing himself for the last piece when Emily suddenly noticed. 

 

“Oh, those look so good!” Emily said, practically drooling. 

 

Reid sadly glanced down at his brownie and held it out to her. “Here,” he offered, and she put her hand up. 

 

“I shouldn’t,” she said, biting her lip. “Oh, but I wanna…” 

 

“You can have it,” he repeated, and she hesitantly bit into it. 

 

Morgan was awestruck. “You gave her your last one,” Morgan noticed. 

 

Emily dropped it as if it was on fire. “Oh! I’m so sorry…” 

 

“It’s ‘kay. I already ate six,” he said. “Besides, Emily said she wanted one.” 

 

“You. Are. The. Cutest,” Emily cried. She split the brownie in half. 

 

“I missed something cute?” Garcia frowned, butting in. “What? What happened?” 

 

“He’s cute all the time, Garcia,” JJ snorted. “Every second you’re not looking at him, you’re missing something.” 

 

Reid blushed and looked away from the three girls. “I am not cute!” he insisted. “I, I, I--” He stopped when Garcia pinched his cheek. “Hotch!” Hotch appeared as soon as his name was called. “Hotch, save me!” 

 

“It’s a work in progress,” Garcia shrugged. The team peered around her shoulder to see the photo album. It was filled with pictures of Reid with the team. 

 

JJ pointed to one. “Oh, that’s so cute,” she whined. “Send me copies.” 

 

“Hotch!” Reid cried out again. “Help!” 

 

Hotch looked at the album. With a straight face, he pressed his finger against a photo on the page. “I want that one.” 

 

“Hotch!” Reid said, offended. “Traitor!” 

 

“Aw, Reid,” Rossi said, “Are they being mean to you?” 

 

“Yes,” Reid seethed. 

 

Rossi was apathetic until he saw the album. “We don’t have a lot of team pictures, do we?” he hummed, distracted. 

 

Reid threw his head back in defeat. 

 

“Relax,” Will said with an eye roll. “I’ll take some this week.”

 

The dinner came to a close, and as the group reached the parking lot, Hotch cleared his throat. “I won’t be seeing any of you at work tomorrow,” he announced. The group looked at him, confused, but Jack and Reid were silently cheering. “But I hope I’ll see you all at Rossi’s cabin.” 

 

“Yay!” Garcia cheered, “Weekend’s off!” 

 

“Not just a weekend,” Hotch said. “A full week.” 

 

As the team went around cheering, Hotch clapped a hand to Rossi’s shoulder. “I hope your beach house stays in tact.” 

 

“Beach mansion,” Rossi corrected. 

 

“Right,” Hotch said, nodding. 

  
  



	10. thistle and weeds

“I got it!” Reid squeaked, struggling under the weight of the big box. He stumbled into the yard and tried to gently lower it, but it slipped out of his hands and landed on his toes. “Whoops.” 

 

Morgan winced. “I’m so glad those were blankets,” he sighed. 

 

Reid looked up from the dropped box to the house in front of him. “Whoa,” he breathed, spinning on his heels. He span in a circle a couple of times to try and take in the view. Getting dizzy, he fell to his knees. He crawled to the edge of the rocks to look into the clear water. “A pickerel! A black crappie!” There was another fish, but Reid couldn’t get a good look at it. He crawled closer and leaned in to see. The rock he was balancing on teeter-totted, sending Reid flying into the water. 

 

“Reid!” Hotch shouted, dropping the box he was holding. Morgan beat him, though. His shoes and shirt were already kicked off before he jumped into the water. He scooped Reid up and huffed. 

 

“It was a pumpkinseed,” Reid said, grinning. “More commonly known as a sunfish.” 

 

“Reid, you have got to be more careful,” Morgan scolded. He sat Reid down on a small island in the water. 

 

“Morgan, there’s the fish!” Reid chirped suddenly, pointing. Morgan whirled around to find it, and Reid jumped on his shoulders. “There!” 

 

Morgan let out a squeal. “It touched me,” he seethed, jumping out of the water. “It touched my foot. What the hell was that?” 

 

“A pike,” Reid informed, and Morgan glared at him. “You scared it off with your squeal.” 

 

“I didn’t squeal,” Morgan retorted, and Reid giggled. “Oh, you’re going to regret that.” He tried to splash the kid on his shoulders. 

 

“Morgan!” he squealed. 

 

“Who’s squealing now?” Morgan yelled. “Oink Oink, boy!” 

 

“...Morgan?” JJ blinked a few times at the sight in front of her. “I know unpacking is boring, but…” 

 

“Hey, someone’s gotta keep him entertained,” Morgan shrugged. 

 

“I didn’t mean to fall in, you know,” Reid grumbled, climbing out. He winced at his wet socks. “Yuck.” 

 

“You never mean to, but you’re a trouble magnet,” Emily said, balancing a lawn chair on her shoulder. 

 

“Well, I’ll help!” Reid said, hurt from Morgan’s earlier comment. 

 

Emily put her hands on her hips. “We’re already done.” Reid’s face fell. She was quick to improvise. “But we should check out the house!” 

 

“Yeah!” Reid said, grabbing her outstretched hand. They raced towards the house, but Rossi stopped the three at his door. 

 

“You’re not tracking water in here,” Rossi said. He threw a towel at Morgan. “Out.” 

 

Reid frowned. A towel was wrapped around him, and Rossi hoisted him off the ground. “Ah!” he squeaked, watching his feet dangle. 

 

“Ooh, are we swimming?” Garcia said, getting out of her car. She was dressed in a sundress and huge pink, heart-shaped sun glasses. She raced past them to get changed. 

 

With the boxes forgotten in the kitchen, the team resurfaced, all dressed in swimming gear, at the clear lake. Reid was sporting water shoes to protect his germaphobic feet from touching the bottom of the lake floor. 

 

A sudden barking startled Reid. “Mudgie!” Rossi beckoned. “Come here.” The dog ran up and kneeled in front of him. Reid clutched onto Rossi’s leg and backed away from the large dog. “Put your hand out, Spencer.” 

 

“Rossi,” he started to sputter, and he gagged. 

 

“It’s David, kid,” he corrected gently. 

 

“David,” Reid said, cringing. “I don’t like dogs.”

 

Meanwhile, “Puppy!” Garcia came running and kneeled down. “Hello there, cutie!” 

 

“That’s no puppy,” Reid hissed. 

 

“Maybe I was talking to you,” Garcia said. 

 

“I’m not a puppy either!” Reid said, stomping his foot a little. 

 

Garcia hummed. “With those puppy dog eyes?” 

 

Mudgie barked suddenly, and Reid shrieked. “Bye!” He took off and left the two. “Do you need any help?” 

 

Morgan was standing by Rossi’s grill. “I’m good, little man,” he said. Reid frowned. “Why don’t you go play with the other kids?” 

 

“I’m not actually a kid,” he grumbled. “I don’t wanna wear a stupid floatie.” 

 

“It’s non negotiable,” Hotch added suddenly, walking up. Jack was right next to him. 

 

“Come play with us!” Jack said, holding up the volley ball. 

 

“Uh,” Reid said, but he was already being dragged over to the water. 

 

“‘Kay, Walt, you’re with me,” Jack said. “It’s me, you, and Dad against Henry, Mr. Will, and JJ!” 

 

“I’m not good at…” Reid was interrupted because the ball was already being served in his direction. He let out a yelp and shyed away from it. 

 

“Walt,” Jack said, somewhat disappointed. “You’re supposed to hit it.” 

 

“I know,” he scoffed, somewhat offended. 

 

Jack bit his lip. “You know what? You serve.” 

 

The ball was passed to Reid. He took a few deep breaths before tossing it up and smacking it as hard as he can. He missed and it fell to the ground. He blushed and tried throwing it again. Same result. 

 

“You know, Walt’s a little small for this game,” Will said. “Maybe we can play something else.” 

 

“I wanna play this,” Henry whined. 

 

“It’s okay,” Reid said, dropping the ball. He looked at his feet, unable to look at any of them. “I’m gonna go play something else.” 

 

“Walt,” Jack called, but he was already scampering off. 

 

Emily was on the edge of the rocks with her feet in the water. Reid settled next to her and dipped his own small feet in. “Isn’t it so relaxing?” she sighed, throwing her head back. 

 

It was started to get dark out, which Reid wasn’t very fond of. However, Rossi’s place was well lit, and there was a fence around his property. There was no spot without light, and that was a bit relaxing to him. “Yeah,” he agreed. 

 

He wanted to swim. Not float. 

 

He was so bored. 

 

Adult Reid would’ve enjoyed this, without a doubt. As much as he hates the outdoors, he wouldn’t mind chilling and reading a book. 

 

“Oh!” he said suddenly, walking off. He ran inside the house to find one of his books. 

 

He grabbed a large textbook and set it in front of him on the steps. It was nice to have some alone time after the others smothering him. He misses them bunches, even when they’re only away for an hour or two, but he needs some time to think. 

 

His alone time is interrupted when Morgan announces his food is ready. 

 

Reid’s just… out of it. Everyone else is laughing, and Reid is disconnected. He slowly chews his food. He eats about half of a hamburger when he’s done. Hotch assumes he’s tired, and he watches him closely as he stumbles back to his textbook. 

 

The others are laughing, some sipping from wine glasses, having fun in their own ways. Reid closes his book and stares at them. He doesn’t hear the floorboards behind him creak. 

 

“Ruff,” says Mudgie, and Reid jumps. 

 

“Ah!” he yelps. “H-Hi.” Mudgie sits. 

 

Reid holds his hand out cautiously, and he sniffs it. Gulping, he carefully starts to pet his ears. Mudgie pants, sticking his tongue out. “Hi, Mudgie,” Reid giggles. Mudgie runs off, and Reid frowns. It’s quickly replaced with a smile when he returns with a ball. “I’m not very good at throwing.” Mudgie doesn’t care. He uses his snout to push it towards him. 

 

With a sigh, he picks it up and throws it with all his might. It rolls a few feet, and Mudgie runs to fetch it. “Good job!” Reid cheered, grabbing the slobbery ball. “Ew.” Hesitant to touch it, he throws it again. 

 

They play for a little bit before Reid starts to droop. He lays down on the hard wood floor. Mudgie pushes his head against his arms, and he snuggles in next to the toddler. 

 

“JJ! Are you okay?” Emily asked, covering her mouth with her hand. 

 

JJ stands up straight. Her shoulders shake with her laughter. “I’m okay,” she winced. “Hotch throws hard.” 

 

“Sorry,” Hotch said, scratching the back of his neck. He hadn’t meant to peg her in the face with the ball, but accidents happen. 

 

“Dammit!” Morgan screamed suddenly, falling into the water. Garcia laughs, pointing. 

 

“You scared it away,” she cackles. “Don’t curse. Kids around.” 

 

“I know  _ all  _ the bad words,” Henry huffed. 

 

JJ, unamused, crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a questioning look. “Then you know what’ll happen if you say one.” 

 

Henry pretended not to hear his mom. “Walt’s the only one who doesn’t know ‘em,” he says, terribly wrong. “Where is he, anyways?” 

 

They look around. “He was reading earlier,” Hotch said, looking over at the porch. “Oh no.” 

 

Reid was sprawled over the stairs with Mudgie. He had rolled over in his sleep, and his head had started to dip down. “Hey, wake up,” Hotch nudged gently, barely touching him. 

 

Reid stirred. “Leave me alone,” he spat, rolling over. 

 

“Reid, it’s time for bed,” Hotch announced, and he let out a whine. He curled back into a ball, and Hotch sighed. He scooped him off the ground and carried him in. After quickly changing him into his pajamas, he set him into his bed. “Sweet dreams, son.” 

 

The others went to bed soon after. JJ and Will took a guest room with Henry. Emily was crashing on the couch, and Morgan and Garcia shared a room with Reid. Rossi had his own bedroom, and Hotch had his own guest room. 

 

A couple hours later Reid sat up. Morgan and Garcia were snoring away, pressed up against one another. Stuck in the middle, he carefully climbed over her. He fell to the ground with a small “thud.” 

 

The house was dead silent. Most of the lights were shut off, but some were left on in case he needed to use the restroom in the night. 

 

Taking a deep breath, he creaked the back door open. 

 

His eyes widened at the porch swing on his deck. He let out an excited squeak before trying to climb up it. Once on it, though, his small body couldn’t get enough momentum to swing. He sighed and leaned back. 

 

He was so, so tired. 

 

The nightmares got better, and then they got worse. Now, it seems they can’t ever stop. 

 

He decides the chocolate milk in the fridge will get him to sleep, so he sets off to find the melatonin. 

 

Rossi is awake, for some reason. He’s about to take a sip out of his glass when he hears the boards creak. “What’re you doing up?” he purred, beckoning for Reid to come close. “Bad dream?” Reid’s eyes were puffy. “You’re okay, kid.” 

 

Reid raised his arms up, and Rossi scooped him up. He let out a small whine and buried his face into his neck. “I’m scared,” he said, “I wanna be big again.” 

 

“I know,” Rossi said, rocking him. “I know.” He got the sippy cup out of the fridge, discreetly grabbing his diaper bag, and started to walk around to get him to drift off. 

 

“David?” Reid pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. “Will… If it’s no trouble, will you… You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but… will you rock the porch swing?” He stares at him, freezing out of fear, as if he’s terrified of him saying no. “I’m sorry.” He hangs his head. Then, quieter: “I can’t do it myself.” 

 

“Oh, of course,” Rossi says, taking him outside. He sits on the porch swing and uses his feet to gently glide. 

 

Reid relaxes considerably, but he’s still upset. He sips from his cup before practically throwing it away. Rossi tucks it into his bag and pulls out a blue pacifier. He knows Reid gets embarrassed about it, but they all know how much calmer he becomes once he has it. Reid’s so tired that he bites it without protest. He sucks on it gently and leans close to Rossi, listening to his heart beat and the sound of crickets. 

 

“Thank you,” Reid mumbles around the pacifier in his mouth. Rossi gently ruffles the messy brown hair on his head. 

 

“Shh,” he hushed, rocking the swing. “Sleep.” 

 

Reid sniffles suddenly. His small hand reaches up and and grabs Rossi’s finger. “Hey, Rossi?” Reid asked, and he doesn’t even bother telling him to call him ‘david’ this time. “Did you know some states don’t have fireflies?” 

 

“I did,” Rossi said. Noticing his shivering, he slipped out the baby blanket and wrapped it around him. Reid buried himself against Rossi, absorbing the warmth from him and the blanket. 

 

“I’m glad we do,” Reid said, eyes glazed. One hand grips on to Rossi’s finger, and the other grips to his shoulder. His head is pressed up against his heart still, and he looks like he’s sleeping but his eyes are wide open and staring into space. “They’re nice.” 

 

“You like fireflies,” Rossi stated. “Because you’re scared of the dark.” 

 

“Nature’s night light,” Reid says. He let out a squeaky yawn. “I like ‘em.” 

 

“Well,” Rossi said, unable to hold back a smile. “We can catch some tomorrow, if you’d like. For now, though, you should sleep.” 

 

“Really?” Reid’s spaced out eyes came to life, and he, breathless, looked to Rossi with such hope that it made him temporarily stunned. 

 

“Yeah,” he coughed, snapping out of it. “Of course.” 

 

“Morgan will be awake soon,” Reid said suddenly. “You can go back in and sleep, if you want.” 

 

“I won’t leave you alone,” Rossi growled. 

 

“It’ll only for a bit. Besides, you need sleep,” he argued. 

 

“So do you,” Rossi shot back, but his tone was gentle. 

 

Reid whined and stuck his pacifier back in his mouth. He closed his eyes, but he couldn’t drift off. 

 

But when Rossi started singing, he fell asleep right away. He was humming the lyrics to a Beatles song, and it put him to sleep instantly. 

 

Morgan arrived soon after, dressed in workout gear. JJ was with him. “Oh, shh,” JJ hushed, putting a finger over her lips. Confused, Morgan followed her gaze to the sleeping toddler in a singing Rossi’s arms. 

 

By the time they got back from their run, Rossi was asleep too. 

 

JJ had just walked up the steps when Reid started to stir in Rossi’s arms. “Oops,” she cursed, cringing as he rubbed his eyes. 

 

“Mornin’, JJ,” he greeted, lifting his arms up. JJ picked him up and carried him into the house, so they wouldn’t wake up Rossi. “How was your run? Did Morgan beat you today?” 

 

“Of course not,” she said with a grin. 

 

“It was a tie,” Morgan said, crossing his arms. 

 

“Oh, bet,” she said, laughing. “Re-match?” 

 

The two walked outside again, and Reid slipped his shoes on. “Ooh, take me with you,” he said, struggling to slip it on. 

 

“You want to go running?” Morgan asked in disbelief. 

 

“Okay, but you have to stay close,” JJ said. She held up her pinky finger and held it out to him. “Promise me.” 

 

Reid blinked at her. “I promise,” he said, but he didn’t take her finger. She laughed softly before picking up his hand and grabbing his small finger with hers. 

 

“There,” she announced, standing. “Pinky promise.” She grabbed the bug spray and dosed him. “Stay close, alright?” 

 

The three set off into the woods. Reid stayed close to JJ, as promised, but that was easier in theory. 

 

“Ready? 3, 2,” Morgan started to count, and they both got into a running position. “One.” The two adults took off, and Reid scrambled to follow. 

 

They weren’t idiots. They knew Reid wasn’t athletic as an adult, and they knew he got lost easily, especially as a toddler. He does have an eidetic memory, though, so racing back to the house wouldn’t be a problem for him. 

 

JJ crossed the two trees with Morgan a few feet behind her. She raised her hands over her head and silently cheered. Morgan crossed, breathless. “Ha,” she gloated, but she still held her hand up for a high-five. “Good job.” 

 

They shared a breathy laugh before looking to the woods. When Reid didn’t emerge after a full minute, they shared a concerned look. They dove back into the woods, but there wasn’t a sign of him. 

 

“Spence!” she yelled, running back. She scanned the trail, but there was no sign of him. Morgan, more motivated this time, sprinted past her and looked off to the side of the trail. Finally, he spotted a bundle of colors off to the side of the trail. 

 

“Spencer,” Morgan said, reaching for him. Reid was on his knees, clutching his chest. “Are you okay?” 

 

“Ah!” he squeaked, curling in. “I… My chest…” 

 

“JJ, call an ambulance,” Morgan yelled, and JJ didn’t waste any time. Cringing at the lack of service, she sprinted back to the house. 

 

“Hurts,” Reid said, grabbing on to Morgan. “C-Can’t…” His chest hitched. 

 

“I got you,” Morgan said, scooping him up. He sprinted back to the house. 

 

“Ambulance isn’t quick enough. I’ll take him.” Rossi was already climbing into his car. Morgan ran to climb aboard. He was about to set him inside his car seat when he noticed he had stopped moving. 

 

“Rossi, step on it,” Morgan ordered, shaking the kid. “Spencer?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u all for reading, commenting, and leaving a kudos!!! luv u all <3
> 
> (((big apologies, but an update won't be coming until a week from now... i won't have my laptop w me on my camping trip, and i don't have any service... sorry, but i promise i'll be working on an update asap! thank u all in advance for being patient w/ me!)


	11. shrug

tbh i've never given up on a work like this, even if it takes me like 3000 years to finish it, but i just cant w this one.... i know its poorly written, i only wrote this for fun, and i had alot of fun writing this, but honestly all the hate i've gotten on this fic just discourages me every single time... i keep trying to write a next update, but this fic was ruined for me cause of some of yall, but its whatever, i know this isnt a five star book, i was just doing this for fun...

 

thanks, though, to the ones who actually enjoyed this, i guess. i love y'all and i hope y'all can forgive me for abandoning this <3

 

((p.s. constructive critism isn't always appreciated))

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave a comment or a kudos if u enjoyed!! and maybe check out some of my other fics?
> 
> i know this one is a bit short, but the others WILL be longer...


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